


Get Out Alive

by riverchic1998



Series: The Alpha Job [2]
Category: Leverage, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, M/M, References to Torture, Season 3 Spoilers, Slow Burn, Teen Wolf Crossover Big Bang, The Alpha Pack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-07
Updated: 2013-05-07
Packaged: 2017-12-10 15:49:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/787760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riverchic1998/pseuds/riverchic1998
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now that the Alpha Pack is in Beacon Hills, Derek realizes that he needs help. He thinks back to the group of people who Laura went to in Boston, the group that gave her the information about the fire that even he hadn't known, the people who provided leverage. </p><p>So Derek makes a call to Eliot Spencer, the alpha who used to be in the Alpha Pack himself, to help get his betas ready for the confrontation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> More detailed thanks and notes at the end. Until then, let me just say that this fic absolutely would not exist with multiple efforts, most notably [Jo Anne Storm](http://archiveofourown.org/users/jo_anne_storm/pseuds/jo_anne_storm) and [Jacy Evans](http://archiveofourown.org/users/jacyevans/pseuds/jacyevans), who were both checking this over at the _very last minute_ for me. 
> 
> This was part of the [ Teen Wolf Crossover Big Bang 2013](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/TW_XBB_2013) and I had a blast doing it. There are some really awesome stories, including one from one of my betas (Jo) and it's absolutely wonderful. 
> 
> It wouldn't be a big bang without art, and my artist for this was absolutely spectacular. You definitely need to check out the amazing art she made. She also made dividers, a poster, and icons for me. Check them all out [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/787067). There are no spoilers in the images. 
> 
> The title comes from the song, "Get Out Alive" by Three Days Grace. View it on YouTube, with lyrics, [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miFhwa1_fwE).
> 
> Finally, I referenced torture in the tags. There is nothing graphic. Nothing is above the level of violence featured in the show. If you're worried, let me know and I'll give you more details. 
> 
> Enjoy!!!

[ ](http://s644.photobucket.com/user/dream_mancer/media/Fic%20art/GOA/FINAL-banner-a2pngoriginal.png.html)

“We’re not prepared for this.”

Peter glanced up at Derek, his eyebrow raised. “We’ve known that for weeks. You saying it out loud isn’t a revelation.”

“Exactly,” Derek replied, clenching his jaw as he looked over Peter’s shoulder at the laptop screen. “And we’re never going to be prepared for this. That’s the whole point. The Alpha Pack circled in close and quick. We’re not meant to be prepared.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “If it was supposed to be easy, there wouldn’t be a point to this little test; not that we know the reason for it in the first place. The only ones who know why the alphas do what they do are the alphas themselves.”

That was true. The only thing Derek knew about the Alpha Pack was the names of the wolves from their first interaction and the fact that they had Erica and Boyd. Derek hadn’t even known about his betas’ capture by the Argents until Stiles reluctantly revealed the origin of his injuries at the hand of Gerard Argent. Chris relayed the message that when he released Erica and Boyd, the betas said they were coming back to the warehouse for protection and forgiveness. When they never showed, the Alpha Pack arrived, smugly taunting at the betas’ capture.

Derek didn’t care that they ran in the first place. He just wanted them back safely.

He huffed and pushed away from the table, starting to pace behind Peter’s chair. Peter’s files on the Alpha Pack were very bare, simply because the Alpha Pack never visited the Hales before. There was never a need. The Alpha Pack were enforcers that monitored new alphas and unruly packs to make sure they were being safe and smart. Derek knew the rules he needed to follow, but the universe seemed to conspire against him. Peter’s revenge murders, the kanima murders, the massacre at the Sheriff’s station, and then Jackson’s murder on the lacrosse field, which had garnered national news coverage and made coming up with a reason why he wasn’t actually dead a bitch to pull off… Everything that happened in the past few months was another mark in the column for why every wolf in Beacon Hills needed to be exterminated. If Derek could just get the Alpha Pack to see that he was working on it, he thought they would spare the pack. 

“They won’t listen to us,” Derek said with a sigh. “They’ve already written us off; they made their decision.”

“I wouldn’t blame them for the outcome.”

Derek growled. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” All of this was Peter’s fault in the first place. All their problems could eventually be traced back to Peter, but Derek kept his mouth closed. Stirring up animosity wouldn’t help anyone.

Peter didn’t even bother turning around. “I mean that to an outsider, we’re a wildfire waiting to happen—dry brush and kindling ready for a spark of a match, and the alphas would love to see us burn.” He leaned forward and cupped his chin with his palm as he kept looking at his laptop. “Personally, I’m tired of being turned to ash.”

Derek huffed. Peter kept making fire analogies to be funny, and Derek was going to throw him through the stairs again if he didn’t shut up. “Well, what could we do to convince them otherwise?” 

“You said it yourself: they won’t listen to us and there isn’t anyone to advocate on our behalf. The alphas only listen to other alphas, and who would put their reputation on the line for us? We’re the epitome of horrible on paper.”

Derek stopped pacing, running Peter’s words over in his head. _The alphas only listen to other alphas_. There was one person who wasn’t afraid to go against the Alpha Pack for him. At least, he hoped so. 

Peter noticed his pause and turned around, his eyebrow raised as he glanced over. “I can practically see the light bulb turning on over your head.”

Ignoring the smartass remark, Derek pulled out his phone, but hesitated. “Laura found a group in Boston that… Well, they connected the dots about the people involved in the fire. One of them was—”

“An alpha,” Peter finished with a hard voice. His easy demeanor vanished as he stood from his chair. “An alpha who used to be an enforcer with the Alpha Pack. I remember her mentioning him. I believe she called him exceedingly violent. Why would you consider bringing him _here_?”

“Because he helped us once!” Derek snapped, finally looking at Peter. “And he’s strong. He offered to help us back when Laura first made contact, years before she came back. He _left_ the Alpha Pack because he didn’t agree with their methods. They _would_ listen to him.”

Peter scoffed. “If he voluntarily left, why would they listen to him?”

Derek smirked. “Because he’s Eliot Spencer. Exceedingly violent doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

[ ](http://s644.photobucket.com/user/dream_mancer/media/Fic%20art/GOA/FINAL-divider-d1pngoriginal.png.html)

Derek bit his lip as he looked down at his phone. After Boston, Laura made him memorize the number to McRory’s Pub in case they needed to get in touch with any of Eliot’s team again, but Derek hadn’t called, not when Laura was murdered, not when he became the alpha, and not when the kanima was an issue. He thought the training Laura put him through after they ran, the basics of becoming an alpha _just in case_ , was enough to get him through anything that could be thrown at him, a thought he believed fully until he saw the symbol for the Alpha Pack on the Hale house door.

Derek heard the stories when he was younger. The Alpha Packs that monitored new alphas were strict, harsh, and sometimes cruel. If Derek was faced with the Alpha Pack before the fire, with his family standing behind him, there was no question that they would win. But they were weak now, not even a full pack. He needed to do something. He needed help, and as Peter stated earlier, the alphas wouldn’t listen to them.

He punched in the number for McRory’s and took a deep breath. After a few rings, the line picked up. 

“McRory’s Pub,” a light, Boston accent said across the line, “what can I do ya for?”

Derek bit his lip, his nervous tick from his high school years, and let out the breath he was holding. “I need to speak with Eliot Spencer.”

The voice hardened. “And can I ask who’s calling and for what reason?” 

He paused, starting to pace. “He helped me and my sister once. They all did.” Derek didn’t bother expanding on ‘they’. “My name is Derek Hale.”

The voices in the background of the call faded for a bit as they woman walked away from the bar. He remembered the phone being located there for pick-up orders. “Hale. The name sounds familiar. Your sister was with you, you say?”

Derek’s throat closed up. “Laura.”

The female on the other end made an _aha_ noise. “Ah, I remember her. Armed a bastard into the bar when he got handsy on a customer. She talked with Nate after that. How is she?”

He resisted snapping _dead_ into the phone. Instead, he cleared his throat. “Is Eliot Spencer there?”

“Not right now,” the woman said after a moment. “If you give me your number, I’ll pass on the message.”

Derek gave her his phone number plus a short, simple message to have Eliot call as soon as possible, trying to convey that there wasn’t an emergency but he did need to talk about something important. He ended the call. He had done all he could.

[ ](http://s644.photobucket.com/user/dream_mancer/media/Fic%20art/GOA/FINAL-divider-c1pngoriginal-1.png.html)

Three days later, Derek was glaring at Stiles, who planted himself in the middle of the burnt-out living room in the Hale house, with Isaac and Peter watching from the sidelines cautiously, not getting involved in any way, which was smart.

The teenager showed up, using his words to run circles around all of them, throwing out the words _solidarity_ and _pack_ like he understood the concept somehow. Even the wolves in the pack he created didn’t understand. How could a simple human using _Scott_ as his alpha understand? 

Just as Derek was about to interrupt, his phone rang, and he yanked it out of his pocket. Anyone he was remotely interested in talking to was already at the house, and he didn’t recognize the number on the screen. With a growl, he answered the call. “What?”

There was a pause and then a chuckle. “Glad to hear that your personality is still shining.”

Derek let his head fall back slightly and his shoulders drop. “Eliot,” he said lightly. “I wasn’t sure you’d get my message.”

Peter tensed, his arms tightening around his chest, but he didn’t move toward Derek or make a noise. Isaac was confused, as was Stiles.

“Yeah, well, we moved locations so it took a while for me to get it. It’s been what, two years?”

Derek clenched his jaw. Had it really been that long since Laura first heard about a group of people not afraid to get their hands dirty to help people who were wronged? The information that Nate Ford’s group had provided them with was monumental, things he hadn’t even known, as close as he had been to the fire, and Laura had held on to the details as long as she could before coming back to Beacon Hills. “I guess it has been.”

“How’s Laura?”

This time, Derek saw Peter move away from Isaac and toward the front door. He wasn’t going to run, but he would give Derek space if he needed, something that Derek was both grateful for and irritated with at the same time. He was coping better, and besides, he already had his vengeance. “She’s dead. I need your help, Eliot.”

“Dead?” Eliot snapped. “What the hell happened? Hardison!” Eliot snapped and then there was the familiar sound of a keyboard clicking in the background. 

Derek tried to get the words out, but this was the first person who knew Laura, who knew about their family, who didn’t know she was dead. How was he supposed to explain Peter, how he was back from the dead and that Derek himself now held the mantle of alpha?

“Wh— _you were arrested for Laura’s murder?_ ” Eliot growled over the phone and Derek sighed loudly. 

“It was a misunderstanding.”

“How is that a misunderstanding?”

Derek glared at Stiles. “The sheriff’s kid is an annoying and inquisitive thorn in my side who likes to frame me for murder when he gets bored.”

“Dude!” Stiles said loudly. “That was Scott!”

“Shut up, Stiles.”

“ _Derek,_ ” Eliot growled and everyone in the room heard it, cowing. Even Derek clenched his teeth in irritation. “What the hell happened? Who’s the alpha?”

“I am.” Eliot paused and Derek rushed to explain, knowing that Eliot wouldn’t understand the details. “She was killed by another werewolf and I killed him.”

Eliot sighed. “You’re in Beacon Hills again?” he asked wearily, and Derek blinked in surprise. 

“Yes. How did you—”

“Hardison,” he replied. “Although, he didn’t have to look far. All the town can talk about is these mountain lion attacks, Kate Argent’s death, and the psycho kid who killed a dozen people.” Eliot paused, sighing. “They’re coming, aren’t they? With all this media attention, Beacon Hills probably hit their radar quick.”

“They’re here,” Derek murmured. “They have two of my betas and threatened the others. They already decided against us, and I just wanted to know if there was anything that I could do… Or if you had any advice to help, anything at all that you could tell me to fix this.”

“They’ve got your betas? They actually kidnapped your _betas_?” Eliot asked angrily. 

Isaac and Peter were blatantly listening in and Stiles kept creeping closer, trying to keep an innocent expression on his face as he strained to hear Eliot speak. “They were captured by hunters and tortured for hours. When they were finally released, they were coming back to me, but the Alpha Pack got to them first. I don’t even know if they’re still alive.”

Eliot’s growl was just as severe as he remembered. The wolves flinched back and judging by Stiles’ surprised expression, he heard it as well. 

“We’ll be there tomorrow night. We’re finishing up a job and we’ll leave right after.”

“Eliot, that’s not why I called. I just want advice. I don’t want to pull you away from—”

“This isn’t a discussion, Derek. This is not what the Alpha Pack does. This is not how they operate. I want to see for myself. We’ll be there tomorrow night.”

Derek’s brow furrowed. “Wait, what? How are you going to get here from Boston by tomorrow?”

Eliot chuckled. “You aren’t the only one who moved to the West Coast. We’ll drive down tomorrow. Don’t let them know we’re coming. The less they know the better.” 

Derek hung up the phone and sighed. He met Peter’s eyes. 

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Derek.”

“I’m helping.”

Peter didn’t say anything, instead just walked out the door, leaving Derek alone with Stiles and Isaac. Stiles’ foot started to tap as he warily watched Peter exit, only turning back around when he was sure Peter wasn’t coming back. He wasn’t a total idiot. 

“Dude, who was on the phone?”

“An alpha,” Isaac said softly, crossing his arms. “I could tell by the way he talked. He’s an alpha. A strong one.”

Derek nodded. “It’s just one wolf, but he has a team of people who help him.”

Stiles looked at Derek curiously. “How do you know them? And how does an alpha handle being around just humans? Doesn’t he need the power and stability of a pack?”

Derek shook his head. “Eliot doesn’t need the power and stability that comes from a traditional pack.”

“But you said he was a strong alpha,” Stiles replied, looking at Isaac. 

“Eliot is a born werewolf and was born to be an alpha. He’s trained his whole life to fight and he has since he was eighteen. The people he considers pack right now help people, ordinary humans, and they helped Laura and me.” Derek looked down at the ground as he paced away from them. “They’re the ones who connected all the dots for the fire. Laura went to them for help. They found out about the insurance agent, the two arsonists…” He trailed off. “They told Laura, but she refused to tell me. Instead, she came back to Beacon Hills and when she visited Peter, she told him, but not so he would…”

Derek sighed loudly. “She didn’t want to kill them. She was gathering evidence to take to the police. If she had known what Peter would do, she would never have told him.”

“How did they get all that information?” Stiles asked. “That was…a lot of that stuff was either sealed or wasn’t written in official records.”

“They aren’t the traditional good guys. Their methods…aren’t really legal.” 

Stiles’ eyebrows went up. “Dude, did you get mixed up in the werewolf mafia or something?”

“Isn’t that what the Alpha Pack is?” Isaac asked. Stiles stopped to think about it.

“Nah, I think they’re the enforcers of the mafia. So is this Eliot guy part of the mafia or part of the enforcers?”

Derek snorted. He didn’t want to say the truth, which was that Eliot was a bit of both. “He’s a friend of this pack and you’re to keep your mouth shut, got it? The last thing I need is you sailing across the yard because you made a smartass comment.”

Stiles grinned, ignoring the warnings. “As long as he doesn’t slam my head into steering wheels, I think we’ll get along fine.”

“He won’t bother with the steering wheel,” Derek said over his shoulder. “He’ll just snap your neck!”

It wasn’t true; Eliot would never hurt a human who didn’t deserve a punishment, but Derek did grin when Stiles’ heartbeat rocketed up as he quickly yelled after him, asking if he was joking.

[ ](http://s644.photobucket.com/user/dream_mancer/media/Fic%20art/GOA/FINAL-divider-b1pngoriginal.png.html)

When Derek received a text from an unknown number with a room number and the name of a local hotel, he didn’t question who sent the text or why. He made his excuses and ignored the pointed glance Peter sent his way—full of warnings and doubt—so he could drive to the hotel. It was close to the edge of town and relatively near the main roads, but not so close that their vehicles would be noticed.

The black van was different than the one he remembered Hardison having, but Derek knew that Hardison wouldn’t be without one. Parked next to it was a new orange and black Dodge Challenger, shining and gleaming. Both had Oregon plates and both smelled faintly of Eliot. He still wanted to know how the alpha was able to cloak his scent so easily.

The room was on the top floor at the corner, close to the stairs with extra windows-multiple getaway routes and quick access to the parking lot. It was easily defensible and escapable. With a sigh, Derek knocked on the door. The gesture was a courtesy since Eliot would have been aware of his presence the moment he drove into the parking lot. The door swung open to reveal Parker, bright-faced and wide-eyed. She looked over him with a smile. “Derek!”

He grunted in surprise when she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. With a confused look over her shoulder at Hardison, he managed to peel her arms away. “Parker,” he replied gruffly. Derek didn’t remember her hugging much, or at all, really. 

“Hey, man,” Hardison said, walking over with a grin and nudging Parker out of the way gently. They shook hands and Hardison pulled him into a half hug but immediately backed off, putting his arm around Parker’s shoulders and pulling her close. 

Eliot walked in from the back of the room, wiping his hands on a hand towel. “Derek,” Eliot said gruffly. For a moment, he forgot how strong Eliot was, how powerful his alpha presence was, even since Derek became an alpha himself, but that quickly faded when Eliot held out his hand for Derek to shake. Traditionally, alphas coming onto another alpha’s land followed a protocol, asking permission to stay there and promising not to infringe on the pack or the territory, but Eliot and Derek weren’t traditional alphas. 

When they grasped hands, Eliot pulled him into a hug, much like Hardison had, but Eliot placed his hand on the back of Derek’s neck, not as an admonishment or threatening gesture, but as an anchoring presence. Derek hadn’t realized how tense he was until he relaxed from Eliot’s touch. Parker and Hardison probably didn’t realize how dangerous the situation they were walking into was, but Eliot did, and was offering support. Knowing that Eliot was at his back brought him comfort. 

Even when Eliot pulled back, he kept his hand on the back of Derek’s neck. It was a gesture that his own father had done plenty of times, even Peter had soothed him with a brush over his shoulders and neck before the fire. Laura calmed him the same way his mother had, by placing a palm on his cheek or brushing over his forehead like he was a little boy. 

“Tell me what happened with Laura,” Eliot said. “Why did she come back?” He led Derek to the small table in the corner of the room that was covered in Parker’s locks, brushing them aside, focusing completely on Derek. Hardison and Parker took a seat on the closest bed. 

Derek dropped his eyes with a sigh. “Laura was going to take the information you found out about the fire to the Sheriff’s office. Before she did, she stopped to see Peter.”

“Your catatonic uncle Peter who was kidnapped by his crazy nurse who was found dead in a car trunk a week after his disappearance?” Hardison asked, pulling up something on his tablet while Parker looked over his shoulder. 

Derek snorted. “That’s what the papers say?” He hadn’t paid any attention to the headlines since he arrived in Beacon Hills, too busy with everything else that had happened. Derek shook his head. “Peter wasn’t nearly as catatonic as we thought. Apparently, Laura told him everything you found, but sitting for six years alone, practically unable to move, drove him mad, and he thought that the police wouldn’t be able to handle the situation. He killed Laura and decided to take his revenge by himself. Peter became the alpha and the extra power allowed him to finish healing. Then he started to take down everyone involved in the fire.”

“Jesus,” Eliot said, rubbing a hand over his face. “We read about the murders. They were ruled mountain lion killings?”

He nodded. “I didn’t know he was the alpha at the time, because his scent as an alpha was different than his beta scent. The only way I could track him was through the beta he turned a few days after he killed Laura, and even then, the beta fought me at every turn because Peter turned him against his will.”

“You’re the alpha now,” Eliot said, looking over him closely. “Has the beta fallen in line?”

Derek scoffed. “I thought he had. For a while he joined my pack, but then I found out he was working with the hunters against me.”

Eliot growled, his gaze hardening. “Is he dead yet?”

Derek shook his head. “He double-crossed us both. The hunter is dead, but the betrayal is still too…” He cleared his throat. 

Eliot nodded and changed the subject. “The papers also mentioned a local student going on a murder spree. That still true?”

“Sort of,” Derek replied. “He was controlling a kanima.”

Derek could tell Eliot was on the edge of an outburst. He was getting more and more frustrated, and Derek didn’t blame him. 

“And where is the kanima now? How did a kanima even get here?”

Derek looked down at the table, running his fingers over a nearby lock. “The kanima was a local student named Jackson. He was my first bitten. He was guided out of his kanima state and is now in the pack.”

He could hear Eliot clench his fists but thankfully the other alpha didn’t remark on Derek’s first bitten becoming an abomination. “He’s fully transitioned now?” Derek nodded and Eliot let out a deep breath. “All right. How many betas do you have now?”

This time, Derek clenched his fingers into a tight grip. “I mentioned that the Alpha Pack has two, but I turned one other and he’s still with me, along with Jackson. Scott, Peter’s beta, he’s gone omega. He refuses to acknowledge me as alpha.”

Eliot nodded, his gaze flicking to the side as he took everything in. “The alphas have two and you have two, plus the omega—”

“Three,” Derek interrupted softly. “I have three betas with me.”

“I thought you said that other kid went omega?” Eliot asked with a frown. 

Derek was dreading this. He honestly didn’t know how Eliot would react to the news that Laura’s killer was alive again and the prospect of Peter and Eliot meeting face to face was rather daunting. There was a good chance Peter would be dead a second time. 

“He did.” Derek took a deep breath. “Peter’s alive.”

Eliot’s eyes widened, but Hardison was the one who spoke first. 

“Now hold up. I thought you said you killed your uncle. Since you’re rockin’ the red eyes now, I’m guessin’ he was dead-dead and not just mostly dead. Are we talking bellows to the mouth with declarations of true love here?”

Everyone stared at Hardison strangely. “Seriously? _Princess Bride_? Anyone?” When no one said anything, he shook his head and crossed his arms. “There’s something wrong with all ya’ll.”

 

Both Derek and Eliot looked at him curiously. “How the hell is someone mostly dead?” Eliot asked before turning away to face Derek again. “Just, forget it, Hardison. How the hell is Peter alive again?”

Derek rubbed his temples. He couldn’t get a headache, but he could feel the phantom pain anyway. “Hours before I killed him, he attacked another student. She was immune and when he bit her, he placed a bit of his essence in her to live on. He used her to come back in a ritual.”

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Parker shouted, nearly jumping on the bed. Hardison looked at her in amusement as she raised her hand. “It’s like Harry Potter! He’s totally the no-nose guy who used Harry to come back to life.”

Hardison made an irritated face. “You know Voldemort but not _Princess Bride_? That’s just wrong, now. That’s just wrong.”

Derek had to bite his lip so he wouldn’t grin. The moment Peter had sidled up behind Stiles at the warehouse after he helped claw Jackson, Stiles had pointed a finger and shouted that Voldemort was back. The first, and last, time Stiles had called Lydia a horcrux, the retribution was swift. He’d run from the Hale house screaming and refused to come back inside for the rest of the night.

Eliot shook his head with a sigh before turning back to Derek. “So your uncle is alive because of a girl he bit, who just so happened to be immune?”

“He’s alive because of a ritual,” Derek replied. “I don’t know if the Alpha Pack knows the details, but since they have Erica and Boyd, they could have gotten the information.”

Eliot’s expression hardened. “They should have approached you first before ever taking a step near your betas. That’s how it’s done. They also shouldn’t be torturing them for information. When they take betas, they’re just testing the bond between beta and alpha.”

Derek didn’t squirm, but he sure as hell wasn’t comfortable with the conversation. “Before they were captured by hunters, Erica and Boyd were leaving. That’s how they were captured in the first place. They were away from the pack. They’re new.”

Eliot’s jaw clenched. “How new?”

Derek’s gaze dropped to the floor. “They’ve only had one moon, one transformation.”

He heard Eliot sigh and could feel his frustration in the room. His scent was thick with it, but Derek was readying himself for the disappointment and the condescending lecture. His head shot up when he felt Eliot’s hand on his shoulder, steady and firm, grounding him. “You said they were coming back to you when the Alpha Pack grabbed them.”

“But they were running away in the first place,” he said through clenched teeth. “And I just let them.”

“Just because you let them leave doesn’t mean they left the pack. They’re teenagers, Derek. They all want to run.”

He looked down at that, because he remembered being fourteen and pounding his feet into the ground as he tracked his way across the Preserve, nearing the borders of Hale land, fully intent on just _leaving_ because Laura was making fun of him again, he was having trouble controlling his shift and his dad said that he wouldn’t be able to try out for lacrosse if he didn’t anchor himself more firmly, and he just wanted to _go away_. 

Derek came back after Peter, of all people, found him on the outskirts of the land and calmly informed him that dinner was ready and if he didn’t return in time, then he wouldn’t get leftovers, but before that, Peter had simply sat on the log next to Derek and let him get readjusted to pack. 

“You know I took off as soon as I hit eighteen, Derek,” Eliot said. “Everybody runs. I don’t blame them for being overwhelmed, or you, for that matter. They’re going to be fine and you’ll get them back.”

Derek sighed and relaxed into the chair as Eliot squeezed his shoulder and then let go, moving back to his own seat. “Who have you been in contact with?”

“Deucalion is clearly the leader. I remembered his name from…” Derek trailed off, knowing that Eliot would understand that Derek meant he recognized the name during the training he received under his mother. She always warned that Deucalion was cunning and ruthless. Now that he had experienced Deucalion’s tactics up close, Derek knew his mother hadn’t been exaggerating. “I’ve also seen Cora, Ethan, and Aiden. He’s mentioned a Kali and Ennis, but I haven’t seen them yet. I’m not familiar with the names.”

Eliot sat back with a frown. “Cora, Ethan, and Aiden are new, but I know Kali and Ennis. Ennis is a brute, a tank fighter meant to wear down enforcers of a pack. I’ve fought him before. He’s nothing more than Deucalion’s pawn. Kali, though, she’s vicious. Be glad you haven’t seen her yet. That’s a good thing.”

The room was silent for a moment while Derek let Eliot think. “I know that I called asking for help, but I didn’t mean for you to—”

Eliot cut him off with a look. “You helped me once. You and Laura both. It’s only fair that I return the favor. Plus, I know Laura would have wanted me to help. And it does us well to get out of Portland for a while. We need a change of scenery.”

Hardison snorted. “You mean we need to lay low because of the drug ring we just busted within a local police station? Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Eliot growled at Hardison, but Derek didn’t feel any anger in it, only mild irritation. Hardison just grinned in return. After rolling his eyes, Eliot turned back to Derek.

“Don’t tell anyone I’m here. Not even your pack. Who knew I was coming?”

“Just Peter, Isaac, and Stiles.”

“Isaac and Stiles?” Eliot asked, and Derek nodded. “Who are they?”

“Isaac is the beta still with me.”

“And…Stiles?”

Derek grinned at the face Eliot made when he pronounced the name. “The son of the local sheriff. He’s human and Scott’s best friend. He’s done most of the research for Scott. He also is the one who figured out Scott’s anchor.”

Eliot’s eyebrow went up. “Sounds like he’s pretty integrated.”

Derek scoffed. “He’s part of Scott’s pack, and my life would be a lot simpler if he wasn’t around.”

He didn’t mention all the times Stiles had saved his life, or kept his betas safe, or gone above and beyond what was asked of him for Derek’s pack. He also didn’t mention that out of all the teenagers in the group, Stiles was the smartest when it came to supernatural lore, not that he would ever tell Stiles that. 

Eliot shook his head but didn’t make any comments. “Just have them keep quiet. Parker and Hardison can recon and I’ll find out why the alphas are being so aggressive, although with a kanima around and all the public recognition from the murders, I can see why they were quick to rush over here.”

Derek nodded and stood up when Eliot did. “The number that texted you earlier is mine. If you need to get in touch with me, just call. We’ll stay stationed here, but if you see us around town, look the other way.”

Derek left the room tremendously more relaxed than when he entered, but there was still a black cloud of worry hovering over him.

[ ](http://s644.photobucket.com/user/dream_mancer/media/Fic%20art/GOA/FINAL-Divider-a1pngoriginal.png.html)

Three days later, when his phone rang, Derek looked at it strangely. He didn’t recognize the number, but still hit the answer button and brought the phone up to his ear. “Yeah?”

Derek easily heard the growls and fists hitting flesh. He clenched his hand around his phone so tightly the glass cracked on his screen. 

“So the alphas are done sitting by.”

He frowned when Parker’s voice came through the speaker. “Parker? What are you talking about?”

“They attacked two of your puppies, or tried to, at least. Eliot’s talking to them now. And by talking, I mean Eliot’s version of talking, which involves less words and more fists.”

He grabbed his keys and was out the door before she finished speaking. “Who?”

“Who what?”

Growling, Derek rushed into the Camaro and started the engine. “ _Who was attacked, Parker?!_ ”

“Oh!” she said. Derek rolled his eyes as he gunned the engine and kicked up gravel as he sped off. “The one with the weird looking jaw and the one who won’t stop rambling in my ear at high speeds.”

Of course, _of course_ , Scott and Stiles would be the ones to be confronted by the Alpha Pack first. Granted, there weren’t many people to attack since Boyd and Erica were gone, but Scott distanced himself from Derek. Then he had the worrying thought that perhaps the alphas weren’t after Scott, but Stiles, since the human had been pestering Derek for a while. The alphas may have thought he aligned himself with Derek. 

He pressed down on the accelerator, gunning the engine. “Are they okay? They didn’t get hurt, did they?” Derek asked, trying to get his heartbeat under control. He was already gripping the steering wheel too tightly. 

“We’ve been keeping an eye on everyone. Eliot stopped the alphas before the kids were hurt.”

Derek let out a breath of relief. “Where are you?”

“Corner of Main and Sears Streets, in the alley between the two big buildings.”

“I’m on my way,” he supplied. Instead of ending the call like he normally would, he kept the line open, trying to listen through the phone, but the sounds of fighting were dying down. Luckily, the alley where they were located was on the same side of Beacon Hills as the Hale house. He was there in a few minutes. 

Derek slammed on the brakes, not caring about the burning rubber from his squealing tires. 

Stiles was the only one who spun around at his approach, but his shoulders sagged in relief when he saw that it was Derek and not another alpha. The teenager was pale and Derek noticed a slight tremor in his hands, but didn’t comment on it. He walked up to Parker and Hardison, who were standing in front of the teens. He looked to the alley ahead, where Eliot was beating the living hell out of three alphas. 

“Nice to see he hasn’t lost his touch,” Derek said, his eyebrow raised. Parker grinned when Hardison snorted. 

“I got facial prints before Eliot started throwing punches and I’m running them through every database I can think of.” He looked up from his tablet toward the end of the alley, his expression distinctly bored. “At this point, he’s just playing with his food, man.”

“Jesus, he’s like the hulk but smaller and less green,” Stiles said, tentatively walking up beside the group. Scott joined him shortly, warily looking down the alley. 

“Yeah, but he’s not wolfed at all. No claws, fangs, or red eyes. Nothing. He hasn’t shifted.”

“He never does,” Derek replied, shoulders tense. He knew that if he jumped into the fray, it would end quickly, but Eliot was doing just fine on his own. 

With a final kick to the last alpha, Eliot took a step back and brushed the hair away from his face. Ethan, Aiden, and Cora—all the wolves Eliot didn’t know, which explained why they hadn’t backed down when they saw him—growled, but backed away. “You tell Deucalion that Eliot Spencer is in town, and I’m not here to play nice. You got that?”

The twins looked at each other warily, but Cora took a step forward, prompting Eliot to growl again. “You’re Spencer?” When he nodded, she joined her packmates. “Fine. We’ll tell him. But he won’t be happy.”

“Do I look like I care if he’s happy or not?” Eliot snapped before turning his back to them. s. 

Eliot may not have been worried about being attacked again, but Derek clenched his fingers into a tight fist until the alphas were out of sight and far away enough that he could barely hear their heartbeats. He finally faced Eliot. “What were they doing here?”

“More importantly, who the hell is this?” Scott asked, stepping forward in front of Stiles and gesturing to Eliot. Derek glared at him. 

“They’re too forward. I don’t like the new alphas, not with that attitude and not when Kali and Ennis are taking orders from Deucalion,” Eliot looked over his shoulder with a shake of his head before turning to Hardison. “There’s something else going down here. You get anything?”

“Running pictures through my database right now.”

Eliot nodded. “Focus on rural area news. Packs don’t stay in big cities and if they do, the alphas don’t visit. Too many omegas or small packs pass through to warrant it.”

Derek noticed Scott looking between everyone and becoming more confused by the second. He turned to Stiles, either to rant or whine—he didn’t care, but Stiles silenced him with a sharp hand motion without taking his eyes off Eliot.

Scott didn’t take kindly to that and Derek thought for a moment that he would stomp his foot. “Dude, what—”

“Scott, shut up,” Stiles hissed, finally looking at his friend. 

“We don’t know who this is!”

Eliot looked at him with an eyebrow raised, but Derek rolled his eyes.

“Yes, we do,” Stiles said firmly. “His name is Eliot Spencer and he is a kick-ass alpha who just saved our hides from dark side Barbie and the Wonder Twins because Derek called him asking him for help, which he does for a living, and has done for Derek and Laura when they lived on the East Coast.”

Scott looked more and more lost the farther into the explanation Stiles went. “How do you even know that?”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Because I pay attention, Scott. I actually listen when people talk to me. I also care more about my friends and family than my psycho ex-girlfriend who has tried to kill me and my friends numerous times.”

“But you don’t have a girlfriend.”

Derek stepped in between Stiles and Scott when Stiles looked like he honest to God wanted to strangle his friend. “Scott, it’s true. Now both of you—shut up.” He glared at Stiles when the teen opened his mouth. “ _Stiles._ ”

“Jesus, fine,” he muttered, sulking to Derek’s right.

Derek turned back to Eliot, who was watching the exchanges with amusement on his face. He quickly switched mental gears and gestured back to Derek’s car. “Get back to the house. We’ll follow you. They’re going to rush back to Deucalion and he’s going to want to meet as soon as possible. Call everyone home.”

Derek nodded and turned to his car, gripping Stiles’ arm and dragging him. 

“Dude, wait,” Stiles said, squirming in his grasp and trying to turn around to watch Eliot, Parker, and Hardison. “What’s going on?”

Scott growled at Derek, but Derek honestly didn’t care what the other wolf’s damage was. Stiles had been the one to help with research, approach a plan to work together, and actually make the effort, so he was the only one Derek was concerned with.

“Derek!” Stiles snapped, bracing his hand against the passenger side door when Derek tried to open it. He huffed, but didn’t force him anymore. “What’s going on?” he asked more firmly. 

“The alphas made their move,” he replied, looking at Scott when he slowly joined them. “And if we don’t act quickly and precisely, they will kill us all.”

He tried to impress the severity of the entire thing on them in a look.“We’ve got to be smart about this. Eliot knows what he’s doing and, Scott, I don’t care if you hate me until the day you die and never want to see me again, but if you come with us, if you work with us, you shut your mouth and keep your head down.”

Stiles bit his lip and looked between Derek and Scott cautiously, and Derek was grateful for the silence as Scott mulled things over instead of immediately bucking against whatever Derek ordered. 

“Do they still have Erica and Boyd?” Scott asked, looking up at him. 

“Yes, and Eliot is my only shot at getting them back in one piece. If you stand with us, fine, if you don’t, that’s fine, too. I don’t care, but you make your decision now and you can’t change it later if something else catches your fancy. This isn’t Gerard and the kanima. This isn’t Peter and Kate.” Derek’s throat burned as he listed off his past mistakes, his errors in judgment, but he plowed through. 

Scott was quiet for a moment longer. Stiles was the first to speak as he subtly stepped toward Derek, standing by his side, not necessarily against Scott, but making his choice known. Derek stood a little taller.

“Fine,” Scott said, nodding to himself, not looking happy about where Stiles was standing. “I’ll come.”

Derek opened the passenger side door of the Camaro. “Get in.”

[ ](http://s644.photobucket.com/user/dream_mancer/media/Fic%20art/GOA/FINAL-divider-e1pngoriginal.png.html)


	2. Chapter Two

[ ](http://s644.photobucket.com/user/dream_mancer/media/Fic%20art/GOA/FINAL-divider-f1pngoriginal.png.html)

Derek clenched his hands on the steering wheel. He was partially nervous and partially hopeful. He was also worried that when Deucalion discovered Derek called Eliot, the alpha would take out his anger on Erica and Boyd.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at Scott in the rear-view mirror, double-checking that Eliot’s Challenger was behind him, sticking to the same high speed. “Scott, call Isaac. Tell him to find Peter and get to the house, now.”

When the wolf nodded and pulled out his phone, Derek looked over at Stiles. “Get a hold of Lydia and do the same.”

Stiles pulled out his phone but hesitated, looking over at Derek, worried. “What makes you think that she’ll even answer if I call her? Or that she’ll come over right away?”

Derek growled. “Tell her if she doesn’t, there’s an almost one hundred percent probability that neither she nor Jackson will survive the night.”

Stiles bit his lip but still nodded, dialing the phone. 

Derek didn’t pay close attention to either conversation, but he could tell from their tones that Stiles was having issues convincing Lydia about the severity of the situation. Scott was having a much easier time convincing Isaac to be at the house as soon as possible. 

“Lydia, I’m telling you, this is serious. They came at me and Scott today _in broad daylight_ and you know that Scott’s a better fighter than Jackson.”

“ _Jackson’s just had an off-week._ ”

He rolled his eyes at Lydia’s rebuttal, and Derek did as well. 

“Just pick him up or have him pick you up and get up the Hale house now, okay?!”

“ _Unlike some people, I have a social calendar that’s actually full and I can’t flake on people_.”

Stiles huffed. “Lydia, I apologized for leaving you in the parking lot during your emotional breakdown but I was kind of busy not getting killed _by your psychotic lizard boyfriend_ who is not, by the way, having an off-week. He’s not even trying, and his blasé attitude about the whole situation is going to get him and you killed. Now drop whatever inane teenage activity you’re currently doing, pick up your prick douche boy-toy, and get your ass to the Hale house!”

He hit the End Call button so hard that Derek was surprised he didn’t crack the screen. Stiles tossed the phone up onto the dash and then slouched in his seat. It was silent in the car for a few moments as Stiles stewed in anger before Scott cleared his throat. Derek glanced back at him.

“Um, Isaac said that Peter is probably at the house already, but he wasn’t sure.” Scott bit his lip before glancing at Stiles in the front seat. Derek caught his worried look in the rear-view mirror. “He didn’t answer his phone when Isaac called him earlier in the day or when he texted about ten minutes ago. He’s going to keep trying and so will I.” 

When Stiles lurched forward and grabbed his phone, Derek quickly reached across and plucked it out Stiles’ hands. 

“Hey!”

“You’re too angry, Stiles,” Derek said. “You know that if you talk to Peter when you’re angry, he’ll just push your buttons and make it worse. This isn’t a time for us to bait each other.”

Stiles slumped further in the seat and crossed his arms with a huff. “But at least he’ll pick up the phone when he sees it’s me.”

Derek sighed because that was true, at least. In the month since Peter came back, he became extremely skilled in avoiding the pack when they were looking for him, but one text from Stiles would garner a return phone call immediately. 

He dialed Peter’s number on Stiles’ phone, not even bothering to use his own. Stiles tried to swipe it, but Derek just pulled his hand out of reach. 

“It’s against California law to use a cell phone while driving,” Stiles muttered. 

Scott snorted in the backseat. “And you’ve done it how many times?”

Derek tuned out the conversation because, true to past precedent, whereas Isaac couldn’t reach Peter, one ring from Stiles’ phone had Peter picking up immediately.

“Stiles,” Peter said jovially, “I take it you know why my nephew’s little pups keep calling me? You think they would get the hint.”

“And I would think you’d realize something was happening and actually pick up your damn phone,” Derek snapped. Peter sighed in disappointment. 

“Really? Using Stiles’ phone to call me, Derek? You didn’t have to steal it, you know. I may have picked up if I saw your name pop up on my screen.”

Derek didn’t bother replying to that. “The Alphas made a move against Scott and Stiles. Eliot intervened. Get to the house now.”

The teasing tone was gone from Peter’s voice. “He didn’t kill any of them, did he?”

“Of course not. Be there.”

Derek ended the call and tossed the phone back to Stiles, who barely caught it, cradling the phone against his chest. 

“So, who is this Eliot guy?” Scott asked, leaning forward into the small space in between the two front seats. “How do you know him?”

Derek adjusted his grip on the steering wheel as he sped down the road, keeping an eye out for police cruisers and any errant alphas who might try to sideswipe the Camaro. When he took the dirt access road up to the house, he didn’t slow his speed. Neither did Eliot. “Laura contacted him when we lived on the east coast.”

He didn’t elaborate and when Scott started to ask more, Derek growled. “I’ll give introductions later, but right now, let me focus on this, okay?!”

He slammed on the brakes in front of the house, and gravel kicked up under the tires, but he didn’t care. He slammed the car into park and ripped the keys out of the ignition. Eliot parked right next to him, not bothering to hide the car or his presence. Isaac jumped on the front porch and Peter walked out the front door.

Stiles got out of the car and pulled his seat forward for Scott, but glared at Peter. “You were already here?” he asked in irritation. Peter just smirked. 

Eliot scanned the tree line and Derek did the same. He couldn’t hear any errant heartbeats or sense any predators in the woods. 

When Eliot turned to him with a raised eyebrow, Derek nodded. He heard Jackson’s truck making the turn from the highway onto the access road so Stiles must have gotten through to Lydia after all.

“Derek—” Isaac began, but he shook his head. 

“I’ll explain everything when Jackson and Lydia get here.” 

Stiles scoffed and crossed his arms. “You honestly think they’ll show up?” he asked bitterly.

“They just turned off the highway. They’ll be here in a few minutes.”

The group stood around in silence until the truck pulled up next to the Camaro. The passenger side door was wrenched open and Lydia stepped out before Jackson had come to a full stop. He shouted at her in alarm after she slammed the door, but sighed and parked the truck, getting out at a more leisurely pace. Lydia, though, was marching straight towards Stiles with a fierce glare on her face. Stiles planted his feet and squared his shoulders. 

Eliot leaned over, still keeping his eyes on the two humans. “Did I miss something here?”

“There is not enough time to explain and I wouldn’t in the first place, even if you paid me,” he muttered back. 

“How dare you!” Lydia snapped, her eyes wide in anger. “How dare you call me, _yell_ at me, and then hang up on me when you don’t like what I have to say? You _demand_ that I drag Jackson out here with me—who, by the way, you didn’t have to call quite so many names—and give me no reason why I should in the first place.”

Through her entire tirade, Stiles clenched his jaw and didn’t once look away. 

“Oh, I gave you one, but typical you! You didn’t actually listen.”

“Watch it, Stilinski,” Jackson snarled, taking a step forward. Stiles didn’t back down. To make matters worse, Scott stepped up behind Stiles.

“Back off, Jackson. He’s just telling the truth.”

“You’re not even a part of this pack, McCall, so what the hell are you even doing here?”

Derek sighed and looked over at Eliot, who was clearly unimpressed. 

“You were right to call,” he said, looking over the assembled group critically. “This will take some work.”

Lydia frowned and finally noticed the new group of people, looking between Eliot, Hardison, and Parker. “Who are they, why are they here, and do they have anything to do with why I’m not spending my afternoon at my facial appointment?”

Stiles rolled his eyes but blessedly kept his mouth shut. 

“This is Eliot Spencer,” Derek said. “He’s an alpha that Laura and I knew back on the east coast. He’s here to help with the alphas.”

Jackson crossed his arms, clearly unimpressed, but Lydia was still the one to make her displeasure vocal. “Oh, after all the talk of not trusting anyone and to not let any outsiders in, you get to bring in someone that no one here knows, let alone trusts? How the hell are we supposed to know he’s really here to help?”

Stiles, who had been pacing in the background, took a step forward. “Maybe because he helped Laura and Derek figure out who was involved in the fire? Or do you want an answer more current? How about the fact that he just saved me and Scott from becoming alpha kibble not twenty minutes ago? Derek trusts him and I have this quirk where I actually trust someone who saves my life, so can we step away from the Lydia Martin show for two seconds and actually listen to these people?”

Jackson growled at him when Derek took a menacing step forward. He resisted the urge to snarl back, getting tired of Jackson’s refusal to fold into the pack properly and of his stubborn and arrogant attitude, insisting he didn’t really need an alpha in the first place. 

“I don’t trust an outside alpha,” Scott chimed in, and Derek growled in irritation. “How do we know that he didn’t just making things worse? Cora said they just wanted to talk.”

Stiles actually facepalmed at that with a loud sigh. “Did you not see her face when she said it? Her eyes were clearly red, dude.”

“Her heartbeat didn’t lie!” Scott replied vehemently.

“She had her damn claws out!” Stiles snapped back. “And I’ve told you before, there are ways to get around lying to a werewolf.”

Jackson snorted, no longer glaring at Derek or Eliot. “Oh, yeah? Prove it.”

“The sky is yellow!” Stiles all but shouted. Although his heart rate was elevated in anger, it was steady. Peter snickered in the background at Scott and Jackson’s surprised faces. Isaac, having been used as Stiles’ own lie detector the week before, just sighed and moved closer to Derek, away from the angry teens. 

“But…it’s not…” Scott said, actually looking up at the bright blue sky, as if to confirm. 

“Did he really just…” Hardison mumbled while Parker snorted. 

Stiles’ heart rate sped up, but he was only getting angrier. “I know it’s not, Scott! Not now, but at sunrise? Yeah, parts of it can be yellow! So while what I said was a lie, as long as I thought about the sunrise, I was telling the truth. As long as the person telling the lie believes it, their heart rate won’t change, their pupils won’t dilate, the person won’t fidget—all those pesky little signs you rely on to figure out if someone is telling the truth. So while Cora said she wanted to talk, yeah, she wasn’t lying. She just didn’t mention if she was going to talk while _slashing us to ribbons._ ”

“This doesn’t tell me why I should trust them,” Jackson replied, gesturing to Eliot. 

If Derek had been in Eliot’s place, he would have snapped long before, but Eliot was a more patient alpha than he and dealt with extremely high-stress situations all the time. Still, even Eliot had his limits, and he had just hit them.

“And I’m your only shot at getting your beta friends back, so shut your mouth or I’ll shut it for you, and my way involves a lot of pain on your part.”

Eliot shared a look with Derek that conveyed the extreme annoyance that had plagued him since he first laid eyes on the teen. _Yeah_ , Derek wanted to say, _do you see what I’m dealing with here_?

He turned to Hardison and Parker. “Parker, spec the house. Stay to the south. It’s downwind.”

She nodded and jogged into the burnt house behind them, not caring at all the curious looks she was getting, as Eliot had Hardison went over what he’d been able to find on the twins and Cora.

Derek joined Eliot and Hardison, glancing over his shoulder into the woods. He couldn’t hear anything yet, but there was an itch between his shoulders as an uneasiness settled there. “They’ll be here soon,” he said softly. “How do you think Deucalion is going to react to your presence?”

“He’ll deal with it.”

Derek wanted to roll his eyes, because that wasn’t an answer, but Scott butted in before he could continue talking.

“So how exactly are you supposed to help us get Erica and Boyd back? Are you going to fight them or something?”

Eliot looked up at Scott, his face calm. Derek felt calmer just by being close. 

“I know how the alphas think and how they act. I know what to say to get them released.”

This time, Lydia was the one to question Eliot. She dismissed Stiles, turning away from him and missing the irritated look he gave her. She raised her eyebrow and ran her fingers along one of her long necklaces, rolling the fake jewels between her fingers. “Really? You’ve done a lot of research on the wolves in the Alpha Pack?”

Derek turned his head to the north, hearing faint noises through the woods. The pack was nearing the house. He took a few steps forward, ahead of his betas, and planted his feet. No one else heard them, except Eliot, who also turned toward the woods. 

“I didn’t have to do research. I used to be one.”

The moment was ruined when Stiles looked to Peter. “I thought your nephew was supposed to be the overly dramatic one?”

Peter rolled his eyes. Derek didn’t know if he was agreeing or wishing Stiles would shut up. He didn’t make any more comments though as the Alpha Pack got closer to the house, making enough noise that even the humans could hear. 

From the moment Deucalion stepped out of the woods and into the clearing in front of the house, Derek could see the alpha was extremely angry, even if he hid it well. Other alphas followed behind him. Hardison showed him a picture of Kali and Ennis, and they were on either side of Deucalion as he walked forward. The twins, Ethan and Aiden, followed, along with Cora, but even as Derek’s eyes scanned the tree line and strained his ears, he couldn’t see or hear Erica or Boyd. They weren’t brought along, and since he knew this was the entirety of the Alpha Pack, the fact that they weren’t left with a guard worried him. They were probably injured severely or possibly even dead. 

Derek took a deep breath and met Deucalion’s gaze. 

“Derek, I was unaware we had a mutual acquaintance.”

Eliot chuckled and crossed his arms. “You and I aren’t acquaintances, Deucalion. We barely tolerate each other.”

“Now do you like him, Scott?” Stiles muttered behind them. Derek clenched his teeth but didn’t turn around. He didn’t dare put his back to the Alpha Pack, even with Eliot at his side. 

Deucalion gave Eliot a tight grin. “Indeed.”

After a tense minute, the alpha relaxed and adopted a pleasurable expression. 

“Well, I believe this changes things, doesn’t it? What brings you to Beacon Hills, Eliot? Last I saw you, you turned your back on us to work for human criminals. Didn’t you liberate a country or something?” Deucalion asked, a bored expression on his face, as if the whole conversation was nothing but tedious small talk.

“Two,” Eliot snapped.

“Jesus, is he _serious_?” Stiles whispered behind them. “Who the hell just liberates a frickin’ _country_?”

This time, Eliot gave Deucalion the tight smile. “And I’ve never slept better since.”

Kali let out a low growl, but Deucalion waved her off. Eliot didn’t even glance her way. “I’m in Beacon Hill because Derek called me for advice. I thought he was having a hard time adjusting. I didn’t know you would be here causing all sorts of trouble. Kidnapping injured betas trying to return to their alpha, Deucalion? You’re playing that dirty now, right off the bat?” 

“The situation is incredibly unstable and calls for extreme measures.” Deucalion took a step forward, sneering. “And I don’t need to explain myself to you. We are not here to test you.”

Eliot shook his head. “You’re not here to test anybody, Deucalion; you’re here to eradicate without cause.”

“Derek was never meant to be alpha. _Laura_ was never meant to be alpha, and I will admit that the circumstances thrust upon them were terrible, but it doesn’t excuse what has followed.”

Derek knew his heart rate increased the more Deucalion spoke, but Eliot’s presence at his side and most of his pack behind him, even if they were there grudgingly, helped ground him, anchor him. He needed it as Deucalion continued. 

“The first attacks were explained as mountain lion attacks, and I’m glad that the Argents were finally held accountable for their crimes, but from the moment Derek took hold of the alpha position, his pack has continued to put the rest of the werewolf race at risk.”

“Are you kidding me with this?” Eliot exclaimed. 

“He created a kanima and let hunters run the town, invading the school. Let’s not forget the massacre at the sheriff’s station. You know what happens if the supernatural community finds out law enforcement has been involved. They’re not usually happy.”

Stiles’ heart rate picked up and he immediately took steps forward. Derek’s hand reached out and gripped his shoulder, pulling him back before he could pass by him or Eliot. The teen’s cheeks were flushed in anger, even more so than when he was arguing with Lydia, and he was shaking, trying to control himself. Derek squeezed his shoulder and pushed him so that he was behind them again. Scott and Isaac both stepped up beside him to ground him. 

When Derek turned back to face the Alpha Pack, he was dismayed to find the exchange garnered much more attention than he was comfortable with. “And humans. The humans in the pack run wild, not knowing their place. They make this pack weak.”

Before Derek could defend Lydia and Stiles - because if he didn’t do it, they would, and that would only end in bloodshed- Eliot took a step forward. It was the first forward motion he made towards the Alpha Pack, and they all went on edge as he did. One of the twins even growled at him. 

“Humans are never a pack’s weakness. They remind werewolves to be strong.”

Deucalion put on a mask of boredom. “Oh, I forgot. Your entire pack is made up of humans, isn’t it?”

“And I still put three of your wolves down without breaking a sweat.” Eliot took another step forward, uncrossing his arms as he narrowed his eyes at Deucalion. “You still believe they make us weak?”

The Alpha Pack all fidgeted at the same time. The twins leaned towards each other while Cora shifted her weight. Kali crossed then uncrossed her arms. Ennis rolled his shoulders, glaring fiercely at Eliot, while Deucalion simply leaned forward. “About that…”

“I’ll take you any day, any time.”

“Six against one?” Kali said with a light laugh that grated on Derek’s nerves. The sound was like nails going down a chalkboard. “That’s hardly fair.”

Eliot waited a moment before looking away from Deucalion and to Kali with a smirk. “You’re right. I don’t want to leave everyone else out. I’ll take five and the rest can take turns kicking you around.”

There were snickers from his pack behind him, but Derek didn’t join in. Deucalion drew his shoulders back and Derek tensed, ready to jump into a fight. 

“Enough,” he hissed. 

Eliot’s gaze snapped from Kali to Deucalion instantly.

“I agree,” he replied firmly. “This isn’t what you do, Deucalion. This isn’t the purpose of an Alpha Pack.”

“This situation is _exactly_ why an Alpha Pack exists.”

“To _teach_ , not punish. Derek is a new alpha with no previous experience. The Alpha Pack was created to come in and _teach,_ to lead by example, and to help a pack transition. I’m not saying there aren’t times when things need to get violent, but the sole purpose of the Alpha Pack isn’t to be the judge, jury, and executioner for every werewolf who steps out of line. That makes you no better than vindictive hunters.”

At that statement, the Alpha Pack started forward, eyes blazing red and claws forming, growls echoing in the clearing. Deucalion held up a hand and the pack halted, but their anger didn’t fade. “Things have changed since you left, Eliot.”

Eliot looked over the pack with contempt. “I know. I heard that there was a decline in the werewolf population over the last few years. I just didn’t know our own species was to blame.”

Ennis rushed forward and for a moment, Derek thought the large alpha was going to bulldoze Deucalion over to get to Eliot, but he stopped at the last moment as Deucalion gestured for him to halt. When Derek looked at Eliot to gauge his reaction, he was surprised to see a small smile on the other alpha’s face. 

“Looks like Derek’s pack isn’t the one with control issues at the moment.”

Deucalion seemed to finally realize that Eliot was simply baiting them all and he snarled at Ennis, who shuffled back, before turning back with a forced calm expression. “If you’re so set on teaching them, then _teach them_.”

“I’m glad you suggested it,” Eliot said, all traces of teasing gone from his voice and body language. “But I’m teaching the whole pack. Return the betas you took. We’re going to do this right.”

Deucalion rolled his eyes. “You should cut ties and be grateful. They were abandoning the pack.”

Derek couldn’t control his anger any longer. “They were teenagers scared for their lives because we had code-breaking hunters in control of a kanima after them. I’ve spoken to Chris Argent personally and he said that when he released Erica and Boyd, they were adamant on returning here. They were coming back.”

The condescension aimed at him was nothing new, but Deucalion added a dose of anger into his glare. “And you trust the word of a hunter?”

For a moment, Derek had nothing to say, because he _didn’t_ trust Chris Argent, even though the man had helped them against the kanima and Gerard. Derek believed him just because the man’s words gave him hope. 

“He trusts _me_.”

Derek turned and glared. “Stiles,” he hissed. 

The glare did no good as Stiles stood between Eliot and Derek once again. “I saw them there, in the Argent basement. They were gagged and bound and hooked up to electronic volt machines and were constantly delivered shocks so they wouldn’t heal. They were helpless there and I tried to release them.”

Derek gave in and put his hand on Stiles’ shoulder again, but this time for support, not to hold back. Stiles sent him a small grin before facing Deucalion again. His heartbeat was fast, but steady. “When I kept trying to free them, I kept saying I would get them back to our alpha. I could see it in their eyes. They wanted to come back home.”

 _Come back home. Our alpha_.

Even though Stiles was probably tweaking the truth, as he demonstrated he could easily do, Derek still felt pride over the words. He squeezed Stiles’ shoulder again, but this time in praise. Getting him to reveal what happened that night the first time around had been difficult and emotionally draining. Stiles relaying the information again in a steady voice was admirable, but Derek hated that he had to do so. He knew Stiles was exhausted, spending too many hours researching the alpha pack and different ways they could get out of the trials alive. Maybe now that Eliot was here, he could force Stiles into a bed so he could get much needed sleep. 

Derek forced his attention back to Deucalion, who was staring at Stiles curiously, like he hadn’t really seen or considered him before. “And what were you doing in the Argent basement while two pack mates were being tortured?”

Stiles gave him a self-deprecating grin. “Do you really think that they only kidnapped and tortured the werewolves in the pack?”

Before any of the Alpha Pack could remark, Eliot crossed his arms again. “Give them back, Deucalion. And I’ll stay as long as Derek needs me to help him. I’ll take responsibility for whatever happens.”

Personally, Derek thought Deucalion would be stupid to refuse such an offer, because he had to know that if it came to a fight, Derek and Eliot, combined with Jackson, Isaac, Peter, and Scott, could easily take the Alpha Pack. 

“Fine,” Deucalion said after a moment, looking between Derek and Eliot carefully. “But we will still test Derek to make sure he is a capable alpha, and neither you nor your pack may interfere in any way.”

“Fine,” Eliot repeated. 

They didn’t shake, but the deal was made, and Derek allowed himself to relax a fraction. Erica and Boyd would return and Eliot would stay to make sure things settled and to teach him properly, ensuring no major mishaps would happen if he could help it. With a simple motion, Deucalion directed the Alpha Pack to melt back into the woods around the Hale house.

“Oh, and Eliot?” 

Derek tensed at the innocent tone Deucalion used. He knew that only bad news would come from it. Eliot didn’t respond; he simply looked at Deucalion expectantly.

“Since we’re doing things the old-fashioned way,” he began, his coy look dropping from his face as he adopted a harsher expression, “the betas will not be delivered to you. They’ll be running.”

Eliot inhaled sharply while both Peter and Derek growled low in their throats. The teens all looked confused, as did Hardison, but the born wolves knew what was at stake.

“They were bitten a month ago. They won’t know what’s happening!” Derek snapped. “You can’t expect them to know what to do!” He took a step forward, his anger pulsing through him, but Eliot stopped him with a shake of his head. 

Deucalion saw the motion and smirked. “They’ll be released at dusk. I look forward to the show.”

Derek fumed as the Alpha Pack slinked back into the woods. His fists were tightly clenched and his shoulders were tense. He tried every technique he could think of to remain calm and not run after the Alpha Pack in a rage. From Peter’s harsh breathing, he was having issues as well. 

“I don’t understand,” Stiles said, looking between Derek and Eliot. “What was he talking about? What’s going on?”

“It’s a test,” Peter said, stepping up to Derek’s left side, his eyes also trained on the woods. “The Alphas release beta wolves at a set time and then the pack must find their betas.”

“I don’t get it,” Scott said. “What’s so bad about that?”

“Because when they’re released, the Alphas will actively hunt the betas. If they find them before we do, they’ll kill them and then kill us.”

Eliot let out a loud huff. “We can’t help at all.”

Derek gave him a sad smile. “Don’t worry. This is actually something we know how to do.”

He and Peter shared a look before Peter went back into the house, returning with a long cylinder canister. 

At the same time, Parker jumped out of a tree onto the ground to the east of the house. The entire pack jumped, looking over at her in surprise. 

Stiles watched her walk back to Eliot before glancing at Derek to see his reaction. He just raised an eyebrow. “Okay, who else forgot she was here?”

“Seriously,” Scott said, staring at her with wide eyes. 

Parker dusted off her hands. “The base seems solid but the front half has weak stress points along the west side. Most of the east side is gone and the south is non-existent. The walls at the north are strong and recently reinforced. The upper levels are iffy, though. The support beams on the second floor are compromised.”

Eliot nodded. “Well?”

Parker shrugged, looking over the house again. “We’ve worked with worse, but there’s no power or running water. That’s not why you won’t agree to hold here, though.”

“And why’s that?”

“The kitchen is kinda… half-missing?”

Hardison snorted, trying to cover a grin. 

“What about the train station?” Isaac asked Derek. 

Before he could reply, Stiles snickered. “If a kitchen is a deal breaker, then the station is definitely out. It doesn’t even _have_ one.”

Lydia rolled her eyes. “Listen, my mother is in San Francisco at a conference for two weeks. She left yesterday. The house is empty and we have plenty of room.”

Derek took the cylinder Peter handed him and uncapped it, pulling out a large map. He unrolled the map and laid it out on the Camaro hood. 

“Are you going to try to find where they’re keeping them first?” Isaac asked, looking over the map. 

Derek shook his head. “They’re releasing them into the preserve. That doesn’t mean they’re keeping them there. We need to focus on how to intercept them once they are released.”

“Can’t you just howl?” Scott asked, stepping up next to him. “It’s worked for us in the past.”

Peter was the one to step in. “In this case, our greatest asset is also our greatest enemy. If we howl our location, the alphas will also know where we are and can intercept Erica and Boyd before we can. This also means the Alpha Pack won’t howl, because it could give away Erica and Boyd’s location. If you hear a howl, it will most likely be our betas.”

Derek nodded. “Communication is through text only. No talking. We can’t risk the alphas overhearing any conversation. I want everyone to have each pack member’s number and no exceptions,” he stressed, glaring at Jackson. The teen rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone, copying numbers from Lydia’s display. That taken care of, he turned back to the map. “Peter will stay at the house, holding it as base. Everyone else is paired up.”

He looked over the map and called upon his memory from his runs. “Isaac, Scott—you two are the fastest runners and you know the woods well. You’ll pair up and run through the preserve.”

“What direction?” Isaac asked. “That’s a lot of ground to cover.”

Lydia stepped up to the map, her eyes quickly going over the terrain. “The alphas will want to drop them off the farthest away from here to draw out the chase, but also in a rough area with lots of dense trees and hills.”

“The northeast section of the preserve is the most treacherous,” Derek replied, nodding. He pointed to a section of the map. “There are steep ravines that are hard to see during the day, let alone at night.”

Stiles stepped up on his other side, looking over the map. “There’s also a lot of wild undergrowth that the U.S. Forest service hasn’t burned and cleared away yet. Dad said they won’t be able to work on it until September or October. They’ve had to put out warning signs for hikers and campers because of it.”

“That’s still a lot of ground,” Scott said.

“But it’s a start,” Derek replied. “You and Isaac will stick to a loose zig-zag pattern in grids starting here and working your way north.”

“Can they set traps?” Lydia questioned. “The alphas will stick to easier terrain and higher vantage points.” 

Before Derek could answer, Stiles stepped in, shaking his head. “We can’t chance it. We may have the time to place them, but if Boyd or Erica get stuck, then it’s game over.” 

She didn’t argue. Instead, she looked at Derek. “That takes care of Isaac and Scott. What about me and Jackson?”

Derek pointed to some of the ATV trails closer to the Hale house but still a ways out into the preserve. “You and Jackson will drive these trails while Stiles and I will take the ones farther in. We’ll both be south of Isaac and Scott, but we’ll be closer. Again, make a zig-zag pattern to cover more ground.”

Stiles bit his lip, still going over the map. “We’ll need medical kits for immediate injuries. We can’t rule out wolfsbane injuries, either.”

Even as Derek turned towards Scott, he was volunteering to go to the clinic to get medical supplies. After a moment, Derek nodded and turned to Stiles. “Where’s your Jeep?”

“Still at Main, why?” he asked, his expression confused. 

Derek threw the keys at him. “You, Isaac, and Scott go get it and then go by the clinic to get what we need. Get back here _fast_.” Stiles nodded and Derek moved the map as he started up the Camaro. Scott slipped in the back and Isaac took the front, nodding at him as Stiles drove away.

Derek turned to Lydia. “Can Eliot and his team go ahead and set up at your house?”

The alpha walked up next to him. “We can relocate in half an hour. It won’t take us long, but the quicker we get Hardison patched into the local networks, the better I’ll feel.”

Lydia nodded and Derek turned to Jackson. “Go with her. When you’re done, come back and we’ll go over the trails in more detail.” 

Parker, Hardison, and Eliot got back into the Challenger and followed Lydia and Jackson in his truck away from the house. Derek let out a loud sigh, looking up at the sky. They had a few hours before dusk and the race to get Erica and Boyd began. 

“Careful now,” Peter said with a wry grin as he stepped up next to Derek. “We were almost a real pack for a moment.”

Instead of responding, Derek spun around and walked back inside the house. He needed some time alone to mentally gear up before darkness fell.

[ ](http://s644.photobucket.com/user/dream_mancer/media/Fic%20art/GOA/FINAL-divider-d1pngoriginal.png.html)

Everyone was gathered around the map, going over coordinates and routes one last time before they set out. Derek planned to send out Scott and Isaac before dusk fell, so they could begin their tracking early. They both had light backpacks with simple medical kits, including samples of different aconite powders. Larger medicals kits were in both Stiles’ Jeep and Jackson’s truck, as well as placed with Peter at the house.

“Whoever finds Erica and Boyd first, the first thing you need to do is get your hands on them. I don’t care if they’re ripped apart and it’ll cause them pain to be touched, you get pack scent on them and keep a grip on both. Just because you see them doesn’t mean the Alpha Pack will stop chasing, is that clear?” Derek met everyone’s gaze firmly before continuing on. “Once you do that, howl. That should be the only time you communicate outside of texting. If Jackson and Lydia or Stiles and I find them, everyone will meet back here. If Scott and Isaac find them, I will come find you before coming back to the house. Everyone understand?”

The normally loud and jovial group was serious and tense, but focused. Even Stiles was keeping quiet. 

“Scott, Isaac—you two are going out first since you’re starting farther out. Jackson and Lydia will take you to your starting point and then begin their loop,” Derek instructed, rolling up the map and placing it back in its cylinder container. The betas, plus Lydia, started toward the truck. “Stiles and I will follow in a few minutes. Keep your phones on silent but send updates every ten minutes.”

He handed the map back to Peter. “Do a quick perimeter run before we head out as a precaution.”

Peter nodded and headed back inside the house. A few moments later, Derek heard him run out the back and begin his loop, leaving Stiles and himself in the clearing. Stiles double-checked the medical pack in the back of his Jeep. As he closed the back hatch, he sighed. “You think this will work?”

“We’re going to get them back.” His heart beat didn’t waver because he firmly believed that by the time the night was over, Erica and Boyd would be safely back with the pack.

Stiles nodded and leaned against his back bumper. “For working on such short notice, you seemed to have a plan.”

Derek walked over and leaned against the Jeep’s side, ready to jump inside as soon as Peter returned. “It’s because I’ve done this before.”

Stiles’ eyebrows went up in surprise. “You’ve had betas kidnapped before?”

He shook his head. “No, back… Before the fire, my mom had us run drills like this. It taught multiple skills depending on what your job was. A few of us were released into the preserve. A group was charged with tracking them and then other groups had to track in grid patterns to also find the ones who were released. We learned stealth and how to escape quietly without leaving a trail.” Derek frowned. “Although that’s something that Erica and Boyd haven’t learned yet. It’ll be difficult to find them before the Alpha Pack.”

“Hey,” Derek looked up as Stiles stood and stepped up close to him, nudging him in the side, a small grin on his face. “You said it yourself. We’re going to get them back.”

Stiles’ heartbeat was steady, but he was also earnest. He truly believed it as well. 

“And after we get them back and Eliot teaches us the ‘Ways of the Wolf’—” Derek snorted. “Then we’re going to go kick the Alpha Pack’s ass. Or we’re going to watch Eliot do it, because that dude is the epitome of bad ass. The way he got the wolves so riled up while remaining calm was awesome.”

Derek grinned slightly as Stiles leaned against his shoulder, becoming more comfortable the more he talked. He let the words wash over him, relaxing just for a few moments before Peter came back into the clearing. 

As soon as Stiles noticed him, he stood up straighter. Derek followed with a nod at Peter. Stiles checked his phone before opening the driver’s side door. As Derek got in the passenger side, Stiles held up his phone. “Isaac and Scott started their search pattern and Lydia said Jackson is a quarter mile onto the trail.”

His amber eyes met Derek’s and he quirked his lips into a small grin. “Let’s go get our betas back.”

[ ](http://s644.photobucket.com/user/dream_mancer/media/Fic%20art/GOA/FINAL-divider-c1pngoriginal.png.html)

They had been on the ATV trails for forty-five minutes. The trails became narrower the farther into the preserve they went, but Stiles didn’t mention the branches and limbs scraping the side of the Jeep. Derek was prepared to get the whole thing detailed as thanks, even though Stiles would probably refuse.

Jackson wouldn’t though. The trails weren’t made for a truck and the vehicle was probably taking more damage than the Jeep. Jackson would probably demand the truck be repaired before Derek could even offer. 

His phone screen lit up and he looked down to read the message. Isaac and Scott were checking in, but hadn’t found anything. They were starting on their next grid. When he looked up after locking his phone, Stiles glanced over with raised eyebrows. Derek shook his head. 

Stiles slumped back into the seat, gripping the steering wheel tighter. Derek knew how he felt. The disappointment and doubt were starting to creep in. 

He kept his phone out, since Lydia would be checking in for Jackson. As he stared at the screen, waiting for it to light up, he turned his head towards the open window, inhaling the smells of the forest. The rain that was predicted held off for a few hours, which Derek was grateful for, since trying to track the betas in the rain would have been nearly impossible. 

_Snap_

_Snap_

_Thump-thump_

Derek held his hand up and Stiles quickly stopped the Jeep, turning off the engine like Derek had instructed before they left. He wasn’t sure if the tree branches he heard were ones snagged on the Jeep or if it came from deeper inside the forest. 

His phone lit up and displayed a group message from Stiles. 

_EVERYONE HOLD_

Both their heart rates were increasing, but Derek closed his eyes, extending his senses. Among the snapping branches, he swore he heard a heartbeat, erratic and off-beat, but he didn’t know if it was Isaac or Scott, or even if they were getting close to one of the trails Jackson and Lydia were on. 

His head snapped around when Stiles nudged him, gesturing to his phone that displayed texts from the rest of the group, giving their current location. _Not them; too far away,_ he mouthed. Derek looked back out the open window quickly. If the pack wasn’t close to their location, then those heartbeats belonged to other wolves out in the preserve. 

He quickly got out of the Jeep, and Stiles did the same. The current trail ran perpendicular to the heartbeats—and he could tell there was more than one now—so he would have to continue on foot. The wind picked up and he inhaled deeply, trying to get a sense of who was coming towards them—either Erica or Boyd or perhaps the Alpha Pack trying to distract them. 

The wind shifted and his eyes snapped open, flaring red. 

Erica and Boyd were coming, but he could smell other wolves on the wind as well. He took off running into the brush, thankful that they hadn’t yet gotten to the trails that hadn’t been cleared. Stiles followed but Derek pushed himself as hard as he could, dropping to all fours to get more traction on the leaves and twigs on the earth floor. 

The heartbeats were louder now, and he could hear the pained pants and whimpers from his betas as they ran. The uneven running pattern meant one of the betas had an injured leg or foot and that was slowing them down. The alphas were catching up. 

He stopped on a hillcrest, standing to get a visual. In the distance, he saw a flash of blonde hair and immediately started running towards them. The Alpha Pack wasn’t too far behind. Erica spotted him first, relief clear on her face as she gripped Boyd’s arm and pulled him forward. Her left leg was bloody and broken while Boyd’s other arm was clawed open. 

Derek heard Stiles behind him, not bothering to be quiet as he ran, but Derek was focused on the faces behind Erica and Boyd. Kali and one of the twins were giving chase, wicked smiles on their faces as they rushed behind the betas. 

Putting on a burst of speed, Derek leaped over Erica and Boyd as they dropped down to the ground. His eyes flared red and he roared, pushing his voice to carry past the alphas so the rest of the pack could hear. It was a warning to the alphas to stay back. 

“Stiles!” Erica gasped. 

“We’ve got you, guys,” Stiles said, breathing heavily as he rushed up to them. Derek didn’t turn around though, keeping his eyes on the alphas. 

Both looked disappointed, especially Kali, and she took a step forward. Derek snarled at her and she backed off, raising her hands in defeat. 

“Good job, alpha,” she said, her voice heavily laced with sarcasm. “Let’s see if you can actually hold onto them this time, yeah?”

“Leave.”

The alphas took their time heading back, smirking over their shoulders. Derek wanted them gone so he could finally turn around and get a good look at his betas, and they knew that. He focused on his surroundings, making sure that Kali and the twin alpha were the only ones from the pack present. 

Isaac and Scott were incoming from the northwest, crashing through the forest, trying to get to them as quickly as possible. Finally, he couldn’t sense the alphas close by and he turned to face Erica and Boyd. 

Stiles was kneeling on the ground between them, a hand on each, as he looked over them both. When Derek walked towards them, he looked up. 

“No wolfsbane, but these cuts are deep, and Erica’s leg needs to be re-broken and set correctly.”

Derek nodded and knelt down next to them, rubbing a hand on each of their shoulders, careful of their injuries. Both looked exhausted and needed a change of clothes and a shower. “Isaac and Scott are almost here. We’ll get them into the Jeep and then head to Lydia’s. Text her and Jackson and tell them to pick up Peter, then text Eliot. 

Before Stiles finished pulling his phone out of his pocket, it lit up and he held it to his ear. “Lydia, we’ve got them. Isaac and Scott are almost here. Derek says for you to go pick up Peter and then we’ll meet you back at your place.”

Derek helped Boyd to stand first before doing the same for Erica. Isaac and Scott finally made it to the area and both rushed over to check over the newly returned betas. 

“What happened?” Isaac asked, wincing as he took in their injuries. 

“Later,” Derek replied. “Let’s get them to the Jeep.”

Erica turned to Derek, nervous. “Derek, we—”

“Later,” he said again, firmly, but softly. 

She nodded and let out a sigh of relief when Isaac’s hand ghosted over her shoulder and drew some pain away. Scott was already doing the same for Boyd. Derek lifted her into his arms, wary of her leg, and started back the way they came. Erica leaned her head onto his shoulder with a deep sigh and Boyd took a step closer, his uninjured arm brushing Derek’s shoulder. 

For the first time in weeks, Derek breathed easy.

[ ](http://s644.photobucket.com/user/dream_mancer/media/Fic%20art/GOA/FINAL-divider-b1pngoriginal.png.html)

Derek introduced Eliot to Erica and Boyd as the other alpha cleaned them up, helping reset the bones and clean the claw marks. He and Eliot both insisted the betas needed rest, but neither of them were willing to stay in one of the guest rooms now that the entire pack was together. They were seated at two of the kitchen tables, Erica’s leg stretched out across Isaac’s thighs. Boyd sat between Erica and Scott, across from Jackson. Scott had mentioned ordering a pizza, prompting the other alpha to send Hardison and Parker to the grocery store for extra food. They came back with tons of raw beef, vegetables, and enough rice to fill a kiddie pool.

Lydia was watching Eliot go through cabinets and drawers, pulling out pots and pans. He found the cutting boards and grabbed a dishtowel, tossing it over his shoulder while he sharpened a knife, then set to peeling the strings off the celery he set out. She raised her eyebrow, unimpressed. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

Eliot raised an eyebrow and diced the celery stalk almost too quick to follow. Everyone jumped at the noise of the knife handle hitting the cutting board when he finished slicing. 

Lydia’s brows rose and she nodded. “Yep. You know what you’re doing.”

Eliot smirked and started in on the rest of the stalks, not cutting quite as fast, but still making quick work of the vegetables. Stiles crowded up on his other side, watching with wide eyes. 

Derek rolled his eyes. “Don’t even think about it.”

Stiles glared at him. “Excuse you, who here has been making sure all of your puppies were well-fed over the past few weeks? If it weren’t for me, you’d be surviving on Chinese takeout and pizza. Is it wrong that I want to learn from the master?”

“The master?” Derek asked, amused. “Really?”

He gestured grandly and Eliot gave him the side-eye when he was almost smacked in the head. “I can appreciate art, dude!” Stiles turned back to the cutting board and watched as Eliot sliced an onion. “Where the hell did you learn to use a knife like that?”

“Just because I toss people into walls doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy other things. Cooking happens to be one of them.” He held up his knife, showing off his grip on the handle. “Hold a knife like this, and you can cut through an onion. Hold a knife like this,” the blade flipped over in his hands, prompting Stiles to flail and take a step back in surprise, “and you cut through the neck of whatever bad guy you’re facing down while their blood goes everywhere and they scream in terror.”

Stiles stared at Eliot with wide eyes as his heart rate skyrocketed. “Oh my god,” he said faintly. Derek smirked as he gripped the back of Stiles’ shirt and pulled him back out of Eliot’s way. He crossed his arms and leaned against the cabinets, Stiles copying the motion. Eliot flipped the knife back over and continued dicing.

“So, you cook and brood angrily,” Lydia announced, ignoring Eliot’s growl. “Judging by the very embarrassing noises _that_ one made,” she said, gesturing to Hardison, who had pulled out all the wires behind the computer and television upon returning from the grocery store, “when he saw the entertainment and media set-up, he does electronic stuff. So what does _she_ do?”

Lydia motioned towards Parker, who was sitting on a stool, eating a bowl of cereal to the side, ignoring everything going on around her.

“Hey!” Jackson snapped, looking at Parker. “That’s my watch!”

Derek’s gaze dropped to her arm, where a large silver watch slipped down her thin wrist. She held it up to the light, squinting at it. 

“Rolex Oyster Perpetual DateJust I, right? Retails around ten thousand.”

Stiles choked and had a coughing fit. 

“How the hell did you get it?” Jackson demanded. “I was wearing it literally five minutes ago.”

Parker smiled as she slipped the watch off and tossed it back. He slipped the watch back on his wrist after checking it over, but didn’t stop glaring at Parker. “How did you—”

“ _My belt is gone_!” Scott shouted, standing up and gripping his jeans. “How?”

Derek grinned as his entire pack realized something was missing—Isaac’s cell phone, one of Lydia’s necklaces, Peter’s wallet. Parker handed everything back, although she was hard-pressed to give back Lydia’s necklace since the stones were real. 

Eliot smirked. “That’s what she does. She’s a thief and she’s good enough to sneak around werewolves.”

Stiles patted down his pockets and frowned. “I’m not missing anything.”

Parker made a face at him. “You twitch too much.”

Stiles beamed. “Thank you.”

“It wasn’t a compliment,” Derek said, rolling his eyes. Stiles grinned at him. 

“Hey, if it means that my stuff stays on my person at all times, I will be as twitchy as a squirrel on crack.”

“God, no,” Jackson groaned.

The group laughed and settled, relaxing more than Derek had ever seen, resting amongst themselves and watching Eliot cook. Even Stiles was content to stay next to Derek and lean against his side. 

“Not to break up the moment, but what happens next?” Isaac asked timidly. 

“Next? Next you’re going to eat and then relax for a few days. Everyone needs to rest and heal. Hardison is doing a check on all the alphas to see if we can figure out their final game plan.” Eliot tossed all the vegetables into a pan and started to work on seasoning the meat. “Judging by the way those twins growled, they came from mountains, most likely the Rockies. Hardison, check in Colorado and Wyoming.”

Stiles stared at Eliot. “You can tell where a wolf came from by their _growl_?”

“It’s a very distinctive growl,” he snapped, flipping over the beef flank. Stiles held up his hands in surrender.

[ ](http://s644.photobucket.com/user/dream_mancer/media/Fic%20art/GOA/FINAL-Divider-a1pngoriginal.png.html)


	3. Chapter Three

[ ](http://s644.photobucket.com/user/dream_mancer/media/Fic%20art/GOA/FINAL-divider-f1pngoriginal.png.html)

Eliot gave them three days to rest, relax, and become used to being a pack again. Erica and Boyd were healed and had a long talk with Derek about why they left and why they decided to come back. Even Lydia and Jackson were firmly integrated into the group. Scott hung around, more for Stiles and Isaac’s sake, and received a thorough lecture from Eliot on what happened when betas turned their backs on alphas for hunters. Stiles, having already wormed his way into the pack before Eliot arrived, was ecstatic about having the pack all together, even Peter.

But just because they all agreed to be a pack didn’t mean they acted like one. 

Erica and Lydia were like cats, snarling at each other and making derogatory remarks. Scott continued with his bitter attitude about being bitten in the first place, which annoyed Peter. And when Peter was annoyed, he took it out on Stiles and Lydia. Stiles was getting pissed that Scott was working more with Isaac than helping him with Peter. Jackson was determined to get Boyd to fight to prove who was the stronger wolf. 

Derek was close to tracking down the Alpha Pack and asking them to put him out of his misery.

When another shouting match started, Derek slammed out of Lydia’s house and into the garage, where Eliot was working on Stiles’ Jeep. The vehicle took a few hits during the trek through the preserve, and Eliot volunteered to check it over so Stiles wouldn’t have to take it to the shop. 

Eliot didn’t look at him as he entered the garage and stalked over to one of the pristine workbenches. Lydia gave Eliot free reign, claiming that none of the tools had ever been used by her father, but he had them _just in case_. 

Derek looked at the ground and shook his head. “I don’t know how you do it.”

Eliot glanced up, confusion clear on his face. “Do what?”

“Be the perfect alpha.” The _unlike me_ silently tacked on to the end of the sentence was clear. He didn’t remember much about Nate and Sophie, just passing gestures and scents at the bar in Boston, since Laura was the one who had the most contact with the crew. But what he did recall was how well the entire crew worked together, enjoying each other’s company, bantering back and forth, trusting each other, no questions asked. He hadn’t been that free with a pack in nearly a decade. 

He was torn from his musings when Eliot snorted. “I’m not a perfect alpha, Derek. There is no such thing as a perfect alpha.”

Derek shook his head. “You are. You’re everything they need you to be.”

“And that sure as hell don’t mean I’m perfect.” Eliot wiped his hands off and then tossed the grease rag onto a pile in the corner. “I am what they need, sure, but that’s what an alpha is supposed to be.”

“Well, I’m not even that,” Derek snapped, tension filling his body. He clenched his jaw so tightly it popped and his temple throbbed. “I’m not strong, or powerful, or all-knowing like they all think I should be. I’m not their leader.”

Eliot sighed. “Derek, alphas aren’t supposed to be the strongest, or the most powerful, or the most knowledgeable in a pack. If they were, they wouldn’t need a pack in the first place. Sit down,” he said, pointing to a stack of crates leaning against the wall. For a moment, Derek thought about dismissing him and walking back into the house, but he would rather face Eliot’s rant than go back inside. He sat where he was told and pulled his shoulders in while Eliot leaned against the front of the Challenger, crossing his arms. “Did you ever wonder why in my pack, I was the alpha but Nate was the leader?”

He shrugged. Of course he did. Derek picked up on the dynamic of the group the first time Laura dragged him into McRory’s, but he wisely kept his mouth shut after experiencing how powerful Eliot was. He didn’t want to be pounded into the floor. He asked Laura once, when they were safely back in New York, but she brushed him off, and Derek never thought to ask again.

Eliot rolled his eyes. “Glad you’re carrying on the conversation,” he muttered, before straightening. “I was the alpha. They all knew what I was and when we truly began to work together and I made them pack, nothing changed, because our system worked. I didn’t try to take the leadership position from Nate, because he was better suited for it. Nate came up with the plans; Sophie was the grifter. Hardison worked with the electronics and Parker’s specialty was getting into the tricky spots and lifting without anyone knowing she was there. And I protected them, because that’s my strength.”

Derek’s fists tightened in the pockets of his leather jacket. He couldn’t even protect his own pack, and certainly not on a level that Eliot could.

“Hey,” he said softly, prompting Derek to finally look up from the oil-stained concrete. “That’s what an alpha does, Derek. Alphas have strengths, but they also admit that they have weaknesses, and that’s why we have packs. Each member lends their strengths to fill in the gaps, creating a whole unit. Because we can’t do everything ourselves, and over time, pack members learn from each other and grow stronger. 

“That’s what we did; we all learned from each other. Parker and Hardison can slip into characters with an ease that they never had in the beginning. Hell, so can I. Sophie could crack safes, sure, but she learned tricks to speed up the process and how to bypass security measures from Parker and Hardison. I taught them all self-defense, because they need to be able to protect themselves until I can be there.” Eliot leaned back with an easy shrug. “I’ll never understand computers the way Hardison does and if I need to open a safe or sneak in somewhere undetected and slip back out, I’m screwed, because I don’t do subtle like Parker can. I know that. That’s why I have them and they have me.”

Eliot walked over to the crates, taking a seat next to Derek. “You said earlier that you weren’t what they thought you should be, and that’s true.” Derek stiffened, looking back at the ground again, but Eliot continued. “Wanna know why? Because your pack doesn’t know what an alpha actually is. All they’ve known is what you thought you should be. You’re not supposed to be the perfect werewolf. You’re not gonna have all the answers; no one is. You have this mental picture of what the ideal alpha is, and you’re never going to live up that expectation.”

“I’m doing everything that Laura did and it’s falling apart, Eliot,” Derek finally snapped, looking up at him helplessly. “I’m trying to train them, to get them ready for what’s coming, but nothing I do seems to help.”

“Laura was what you needed her to be at the time, Derek,” Eliot said, his voice hardening. “She may have seemed like she had all the answers, but she didn’t. You needed her to be forceful and commanding because you lost everyone else in your pack and she was the only one left, but those conditions are not what you need to compare yourself to. You don’t need to compare yourself to anyone. These are different circumstances. They’ve never had a pack before, Derek, so they don’t know how this works.” 

Eliot stood and pointed at the door leading to the house. “You have a well of untapped potential in there and you need to stop judging them by their physical merits. You were raised as a beta to be a fighter, an enforcer. I get it. You can still be the fighter, but one of the things I’ve learned with my pack is that sometimes, it’s better to choose another path besides the bloody one. It’s not your strength, and it sure as hell ain’t mine, but that’s why we have packs. Because our weakness are someone else’s strengths. Your job is to find those strengths and encourage them, but also help strengthen their weaknesses.”

“I’m not a planner,” Derek said, shaking his head. “I was taught to fight and to teach others to fight. I’m not a strategist. I don’t gather information.”

Eliot gestured to the door again. “Erica and Isaac take direction well, but both of them are overcompensating by thrusting themselves into the spotlight. Boyd’s strong but he’s also smart; he’s analytical, but he’s not grounded. He doesn’t know where he stands in the pack yet. All three of them are so used to being ignored that they still don’t know how to just exist with other people, but with the proper encouragement and teaching, they could be strong and loyal betas. I bet you they know all the gossip around the school and town because they know how to listen in on conversations and not be noticed.”

Derek leaned back against the wall, letting his head rest against the metal tool rack. It was true that all three betas could maneuver well, people unaware of their presence, but they jumped to the other end of the spectrum after their turning. There had been no in between. 

“And I promise you, the moment you start treating Jackson like a person, like a human being, instead of your mistake, you’ll see a turn-around in his attitude. He has a drive to get to the top, a determination to see things through. He just needs to learn to accept that he has weaknesses like every other person walking the planet.”

Eliot chuckled. “I’m telling you, get him, Boyd, and Scott together and train them as enforcers and you’ve got the perfect trifecta. Jackson can sniff out weaknesses and exploit them, Boyd is strong and loyal, and Scott has that damn moral compass that won’t waver unless he’s pushed into a corner.” 

“Scott isn’t a part of this pack,” Derek bit out, but before he could explain, another voice interrupted him.

“What do you mean he’s not part of the pack?”

Derek’s head snapped to the side, looking at the garage opening, sitting up straighter when Stiles walked farther into the garage. Derek rolled his eyes. He didn’t need an audience for this. “Why, Stiles? Why the hell would I want him in my pack now? He betrayed us, betrayed _me_. He never accepted me as his alpha and made it more than clear that he never planned to, even now.”

“Dude, I get it!” Stiles snapped, his arms gesturing wide. “Trust me. You think I’m not pissed as hell at him? I am, but it’s not about holding grudges right now. It’s about staying alive. It’s about keeping each other alive.”

Derek wanted to punch a wall. “What the hell do you think I’ve been doing the past few months? Running around for kicks?”

“So have I! _Jesus!_ ” Stiles sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. “And I know the dude is my best friend, and I’ve pretty much dropped everything to help him with nothing but a busted face and bruised ribs to show for it, but I’m a moron who doesn’t know when to stop. So I’m begging you, dude, we’re stronger together. Can’t we just join forces until the psycho wolves leave?”

Derek was about to retort, but Eliot was at his side. “That’s his strength, Derek. Stiles can see the endgame. He’s always a few steps ahead. It’s a good thing, but it can also be his weakness, because he can’t see the immediate step coming.”

“That’s because he’s too busy flailing over it.” 

Derek sighed loudly when Lydia walked in where Stiles had a few moments ago. “Having a little powwow without us, Derek? That’s not fair. If you’re making plans, we should all know them. Secrets don’t make friends, you know,” she said flippantly. “If you’re squatting in my house, I expect to be kept in the loop.”

“Lydia may be a genius, but she’s so used to being underestimated that she assumes if her opinion differs than someone else’s that she must be right,” Eliot said in obvious irritation. Lydia opened her mouth to retort, but Eliot beat her to it, his voice hardening. “Nate had that issue and it nearly got us killed on a few occasions. She doesn’t work well with others unless she can lord over them. That’s why she and Jackson fit well together. He needs to be validated and she needs to feel superior.”

Derek knew both Stiles and Lydia were on the verge of exploding in anger, both flushed and trying to gather angry retorts, but Eliot stepped in front of Derek, not even looking at them. “You said you didn’t plan, that you don’t strategize. They do. You saw them in action, planning to get your betas back. Your weakness is their strength. They balance each other out. I’m not saying everything will be flawless, no plan ever is, but you can help steer them. If you need to plan a fight, the three of you work together on it: Lydia with immediate steps, Stiles with the steps in the future, and you there working through contingencies.”

Derek looked over Eliot’s shoulder. The fight had bled out of Stiles and Lydia, both looking uncertainly from Eliot to Derek then to each other.

“You see what I’m getting at here?” Eliot asked. “It’s not going to be perfect. No pack ever is. You think I don’t want to smack the hell out of Hardison every damn minute or that Parker doesn’t drive me up the wall with her crazy comments? There are times when I want to kick ‘em across the room just to get some peace and quiet, and that’s okay, too. That’s what pack is. They’re people who drive you crazy and you drive them crazy also, but they love and accept you for it just the same. You just have to learn to trust them.”

Eliot placed his hand on Derek’s shoulder and squeezed before walking back into the house.

The garage was silent after Eliot left. Derek didn’t look at Stiles or Lydia; instead, he stared down at the floor and crossed his arms defensively. Unsurprisingly, Stiles broke the silence first. 

“He’s got a point.”

Lydia inhaled sharply. “Excuse me? He did not—”

“He’s got a point,” Stiles reiterated harshly, glaring at Lydia before taking a deep breath and scrubbing a hand over his face. “About everything. A few weeks watching us and three days staying with us and he’s got us pegged. Are we really that transparent that it only takes a few weeks?”

“They usually figures out groups in a few days, so I think we did fine,” Derek replied flatly.

Everyone was quiet again for a moment. Derek could hear Eliot cleaning up in the laundry room, getting ready to start dinner. Scott and Jackson were arguing over what movies to watch when Isaac stepped in and diffused the situation. He grinned. If he had tried to end the argument, he would have tossed the movies out the window and made them sit in silence. Isaac was the mediator. 

“We did work well together finding Erica and Boyd, right?” Stiles said, looking between Lydia and Derek. “We weren’t even really close then and we pulled together. If we actually tried and worked together, we could be totally kick ass.”

“I’m not going to spend the rest of my life _making plans_ ,” Lydia said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. 

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Our life isn’t going to _be_ spent making plans. You’re Immediate Plans Girl, right? I’m talking about for the Alpha Pack. We need all hands on deck. We did survive without you when all this shit went down, you know.”

“Immediate Plans Girl?” she asked, an eyebrow rising slowly. 

He winced. “It’s better than horcrux?”

Lydia stared at Stiles steadily, making him fidget. “I think I liked you better when you had a crush on me.”

The grin that Stiles gave her was both sad and amused. “I liked you better when I had a crush on you, too.”

Derek’s eyebrows went up as he looked between the two. He missed _something_ because Stiles relaxed and Lydia spun on her heel and started to head back inside. “We’ll have a strategy session tonight after dinner.”

“Oh come on, Lydia!” Stiles said, his voice leaning towards a whine. “We were going to play the new _Call of Duty: Black Ops II_!”

The door slamming was his answer. Stiles sighed and slumped over to the tool rack Derek was leaning against. He was resolutely not looking at Derek, but trying to glance at him out of the corner of his eyes. “So, uh…”

“Just ask, Stiles,” Derek said, hating how tired his voice sounded. 

“You know, that night when we were stuck in the pool, you said that you didn’t trust me and that I didn’t trust you. You only got it half wrong,” Stiles said quickly, looking away before crossing his arms, looking Derek straight in the eye. “I trust you. I trusted you then. Up until that night, I didn’t. But…since then, yeah. I have.”

Derek’s eyebrow rose. “What changed? Spending two hours keeping me from drowning?” he asked sarcastically, but for once, Stiles didn’t rise to the bait. 

“When the kanima attacked, it threw Erica into the wall. It tossed your beta into a mirror and knocked her out, but when it came at us, you turned around, put your back to it, and forced me to run. It was a stupid move, yeah, but when I didn’t run when you first told me, you pushed me back.”

He swallowed tightly but didn’t respond. Stiles bit his lip, but continued. 

“I saw the panic in your eyes, dude.” Stiles eyes darted up to meet Derek’s. “You weren’t…you threaten bodily harm all the time, but when push comes to shove, you’re always making sure I’m safe and putting yourself in harms’ way. You did it with the kanima, you did it with Matt, and you’re doing it now. So, yeah. I trust you, and until you give me a reason not to, I’ll keep trusting you. And I hope that you’ll come to trust me.” 

“I do,” he said, aware of the surprise on Stiles’ face. “I trust you. I have ever since you almost cut off my arm.”

Stiles’ eyebrows went up. “Seriously? That was the defining moment of our trust-building for you?”

Derek shrugged, dropping his gaze back down to the floor. “That was when I first realized that Scott wasn’t going to be like a normal beta, like a beta I grew up around. He didn’t think that the bite was a gift; he just wanted to be a normal teenager. And the longer I sat in your Jeep, the less I trusted Scott to actually bring the bullet that would save me. But when we were at the clinic and you were holding the saw, I could tell you were prepared to do what was necessary, to cut off my arm, even though you couldn’t stomach it.” He looked up at Stiles. “So, yeah. I trust you.”

“Then why won’t you ever let me help?” Stiles asked. Derek was taken aback by the anger in his voice. “Ever since the Alpha Pack rolled into town, I’ve tried to give you support, but you’re constantly pushing me away.”

“Because it’s too dangerous, Stiles!” Derek snapped, standing up. Now at an even eye level, they both glared. “Especially since the Alpha Pack came to town. It’s dangerous for you to be seen with any wolves because it’ll mean trouble for you.”

Stiles scoffed. “Newsflash, dude! I go looking for trouble without needing a supernatural kick in the pants. Ask Scott! I don’t need outside forces egging me on to get in over my head.”

“You’re not really helping your case, Stiles,” Derek said with a low growl.

“So, what, I can’t be around any wolves at all? Is it because you think I don’t fit in because I’m human? That because I’m not a wolf that I won’t understand how the dynamics work? I taught Scott about anchors and his bloodlust. I know what true pack means.”

“Stiles—” Derek said, only to be interrupted again. He huffed in irritation. 

“Or are you worried that I’ll betray you or something? I wouldn’t do that.”

“Your loyalty was never in question, Stiles!” he snapped. “I’ve seen you with Scott and I’ve seen you with Lydia and I’ve seen you with your dad. You’re loyal to a fault. You’re loyal to this pack more than some of the wolves because you understand what’s at stake, but you should run in the other direction, not stay here. You’re sixteen—”

“Seventeen,” Stiles said firmly, and Derek rolled his eyes. 

“You’re too young to make decisions this serious. You should be worrying about your grades, not whether you’re going to survive the night.”

“If I don’t worry, then who will?” Stiles asked loudly. “You were all but ready to rip Lydia apart when you thought she was the kanima, and she wasn’t, so you’re welcome. Ten points to Stiles for keeping you from killing an innocent human.”

Derek scoffed. “You were willing to kill Jackson. The only thing stopping you was Scott!”

“Because Jackson wasn’t innocent! He really was killing people and we knew it. We had hard evidence that he was the kanima.”

“And you think I didn’t test both of them before I made a decision on who to go after? I didn’t just pick a random person and decide to slash throats!”

Stiles huffed and started to pace. Derek knew that he needed to step away because they were both too angry, but he would rather hash it out with Stiles than go inside and argue with the entire pack over something trivial. 

“You were just guessing at that point. I was only willing to go after Jackson after we knew for sure that he killed people!”

Even without listening to his accelerated heartbeat and watching his body language, Derek knew that was a lie. 

“That is complete bullshit, Stiles!” he snapped. “You protected Lydia, even when all signs pointed at her but the moment Jackson’s name came up, you were leading the charge against him. What if it had been the other way around? What if we knew that Lydia had been the kanima? Would you still have been so adamant to go after her or would you still throw Jackson under the bus because you were jealous?”

Stiles stopped pacing and spun around. Derek was shocked at the amount of anger in his expression. “He has everything! Everything, Derek! He has money and good looks! He’s the most popular guy in school and he’s dating the smartest girl there. He’s got the cool cars and he’s captain of every sport team imaginable, practically.” Stiles’ shoulders slumped as he looked at the Jeep. Derek took a step forward, but stopped when Stiles continued. “He’s even got both his parents. And he’s such a dick about it, too. Who cares that he’s adopted? It’s not like his birth parents didn’t want him. They died!”

Derek clenched his jaw when Stiles turned from the Jeep and hunched over, an air of defeat around him. “He’s got everything and he doesn’t appreciate any of it.” He shook himself, as if he was trying to shake off the misery that was circling in the room. “Well, he does now, a bit. Funny how almost losing everything does that.”

“Sometimes that’s what it takes,” Derek replied, looking down at the floor. “Sometimes you can have everything and not truly appreciate it until you lose it.”

Stiles froze in his tracks, the sharp lack of movement noticeable from the corner of his eye. “Derek…” He stretched out a hand to put it on his shoulder, but Derek stepped back.

“You’re right. Jackson never was grateful. Scott wasn’t grateful. Only the people who have had to deal with every shitty scenario possible in their lives understand how precious things are in life, and you’ve been in those scenarios enough. This isn’t me testing your loyalty or seeing if I can trust you, because I know I have your loyalty and I already trust you. This is me protecting you.”

Stiles shook his head. “I may just look like a chew toy on legs to the Alpha Pack, but I have some tricks up my sleeve.”

“And they can stay there until I’m not around anymore to stop the Alphas.”

“Why do you insist on protecting me like I’m some little piece of china?!”

“Why do you insist on fighting me on it?”

“Because I’m not a Disney princess, Derek! I’m not Bella Swan or Buttercup or any other number of people who needed to be rescued on a daily basis. I don’t need your protection!"

Derek wasn’t standing in Lydia’s garage anymore. His mind flashed back to just a few months before, when he watched Laura pack for a short trip back to Beacon Hills so she could hand over information to the Sheriff’s Department. Derek insisted on going with her, to watch her back, but she kept brushing him off.

“I’m a big girl, Derek. I don’t need your protection.”

She had laughed when she said it, tossing more things into her bag before zipping it up. Derek handed her the toiletries bag she left out with a pointed look. Laura rolled her eyes with a grin. “I’ll be fine, Derek. Love you! See you in a week!”

Derek inhaled sharply, his eyes widening. “Don’t—” He stopped himself and started to pace, clenching his fists tightly. He believed Laura when she said she didn’t need his protection. Look how that had ended. 

He took a deep breath, his shoulders tightening as Stiles took a step towards him. He was wary, but no longer flailing in anger. 

“Derek? What just happened?”

He turned around and met Stiles’ gaze. “What you said—”

Stiles’ eyebrows went up as he interrupted Derek. “What, that I don’t need protection?”

“Yes,” he said with an exasperated sigh. “That—that was one of the last things Laura said to me before she came back to Beacon Hills.”

Stiles’ eyes widened and he took a step back like Derek had physically pushed him away. “Derek, I didn’t—”

“You didn’t know; I know that. I didn’t say it to… I’m not trying to make you feel guilty. I just want you to understand.” He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. “I’m not trying to protect you because I think you’re weak. You’re not. You’re one of the strongest people I know. I’m trying to protect you because you’re important. You’ve put more effort into this pack than I deserve and can you really blame me for wanting you safe? I can’t—”

Derek cut himself off. That was probably the most he’d ever said to Stiles at once and it was filled with emotions and heavy implications. He took a step back, looking down at the floor again. 

“I know that it’s hard to understand but—”

“Dude, I get it.” He looked up when Stiles’ voice cracked. The teen had his arms wrapped around his middle, his body language giving away his vulnerable feelings. “I totally get it. There’s no history of heart disease in my family. Dad works a high-stress job and his blood pressure is fine. His cholesterol is a little high, but it didn’t even warrant a real intervention from a doctor, just an off-hand _Oh, looks like your cholesterol is a little high._

“But three months earlier, we buried my mother, and I freaked out at the thought of losing Dad too. I didn’t hear that his cholesterol was a little high; I heard that he was two steps away from a heart attack or a stroke or something. I spent my entire summer in the library, looking through medical journals and surfing through WebMD to find everything I could about high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Ever since then, I’ve forced my dad on a diet and made sure he gets plenty of exercise and enough sleep.”

Stiles sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “And he lets me. Granted, he bitches about the diet thing all the time, but he still lets me fuss over him, even all these years later. Every time he goes to the doctor, he gets an excellent bill of health, but I never stop. So, yeah, I get it.” When he looked up at Derek, his eyes were shining and Stiles clenched his jaw, holding back tears. “And okay.”

“Okay?” Derek asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.

“Okay, I’ll take a step back. I’ll be planning and research guy.”

Derek may have slumped back against the tool bench at hearing the words. Stiles was going to back off from the fights. Relief flooded through him.

“But, dude, you have to agree to be careful, too, okay?”

Derek looked up in surprise. “What?”

Stiles shuffled his feet. “You’re important, too. So let your betas help protect you. Because, let’s face it, if I’m not there to cut off your arm or hold you up in a pool, who will? You need to let someone else watch your back.”

He smiled to show he was joking and Derek smirked. “I think we’ve already gone over the fact that I wouldn’t have been in that pool if you had run like I told you.” 

“No, we learned a valuable lesson about Matt and his aversion to water because of that, so you really should thank me.”

Derek’s eyebrow rose. “I should thank you for being paralyzed and nearly drowning trying to save your life?”

Stiles winced. “It sounded better in my head?”

The truth was, they _did_ learn a lot about the kanima and its master from the whole ordeal, so Derek didn’t push the issue. They fell into a comfortable silence and Derek started counting in his head to see how long Stiles could stand it. He got to forty-two before Stiles cleared his throat. Derek smirked.

“I’m sorry, you know. For a lot of stuff, but at the top of the list is yelling at you, like, five seconds ago, and accusing you of going after Lydia without thinking things through. I know that you plan and you try to strategize. I was just pissed.”

Derek was about how to respond that the whole conversation was water under the bridge, because tension was high and everyone was stressed. Stiles was allowed to shout at someone and get his frustrations out, but the teen kept going. 

“And number two on that list is a pretty big one.” He took a step closer to Derek, arms still crossed across his chest defensively. He locked his amber eyes onto Derek’s, swallowing tightly. “It occurred to me the other day that I never apologized for disturbing Laura’s grave. We didn’t… _I_ didn’t mean any disrespect.”

Derek swallowed tightly. That was completely unexpected, and he honestly hadn’t expected an apology. That seemed so long ago that he had pushed it from his mind. He claimed Laura’s body—both halves—and reburied her properly with the ashes of the remainder of the family in one of the old cemeteries. 

“Thank you,” he replied softly. “And I’m also sorry for yelling at you. I didn’t mean to imply that you’re so vindictive that you would go after Jackson like that.”

To his surprise, Stiles walked over to the tool bench and leaned against it, his right side brushing against Derek’s left. “Dude, I’m totally that vindictive. During Scott’s second moon, he was a bastard and made out with Lydia, when he knew that I had a crush on her, and I found out about it. That night, when I chained him up, I put his name on a water bowl and threw it at him.”

Derek returned Stiles’ grin, just imagining the look on Scott’s face, but at the same time, hating that Scott put Stiles through that. “What did he do?”

Stiles sighed loudly. “Well, I could make a comment about how, in true dog fashion, he brought it back, but the truth is, he threw it at the door as I left.” He looked over at Derek, his eyes flickering over Derek’s face. “That was the night we found out you survived Peter’s attack. You saved him from attacking Allison and Jackson.”

Derek remembered the night well. Part of him wonders if he should have just let Scott attack Jackson and scare Allison off. His life would have been vastly different. “Yeah,” he replied. “I also found out you framed me for murder. Again.”

“Dude—”

“It’s okay, Stiles,” Derek interrupted with a grin. 

“Wolf’s got jokes,” Stiles said, rolling his eyes as he settled against the tool bench.

Derek listened inside the house, but he didn’t hear any arguments or conversation. Scott and Jackson had bypassed the movie, by the sounds of it, and started playing the video games without Stiles. He was about to let Stiles know if he wanted a chance at a controller before Lydia dragged him away, he needed to head inside, but Stiles spoke before he could open his mouth. 

“You know, you never did answer my question. I’m the king of avoiding something until it goes away, especially a question I don’t want to answer, because god knows I can talk my way around anything—”

“As you are demonstrating right now.” Stiles narrowed his eyes and to head off another argument, Derek shook his head. “What question, Stiles?”

He stared at Derek for a few more moments before slouching back again. “I asked if you would let someone watch your back, because you’re important, too. If you want me on the sidelines, someone has to take up the position.”

“Oh, is that what you’ve been doing?” Derek asked dryly. “Been showing up and watching my back?”

He meant it as a joke, not really expecting an answer. Or if he did get a reply, he thought it would be a typical Stiles smartass one. He didn’t expect Stiles to look at him earnestly and nod. 

“Yeah.”

Derek’s eyebrows rose. “What?”

Stiles rolled his eyes and he crossed his arms. “Why do you think I invited myself along when you and Peter and Isaac had wolf-y meetings at the start of summer? I heard Isaac mention it to Scott once and bugged him until he gave me details.”

“ _That’s_ why you showed up?” he asked in surprise. Derek could only stare at Stiles in shock. 

“Well, yeah. Everyone knows I can’t stand Peter and I don’t really know Isaac, at least not like Scott does.”

Derek was trying to wrap his mind around the conversation. “But, what about Scott?”

Stiles gave him an unimpressed look. “What about him?”

He gestured weakly, still floundering. “I thought you were showing up so you could keep Scott informed.”

The teen scoffed and started to pace again, limbs full of nervous energy. “Yeah, right.” When Derek didn’t reply, Stiles was the one who looked surprised. “Seriously, dude? I’m under no illusion that Scott would want to ever be a part of a pack. He’s going to have his ass kicked a few more times before he gets his head in the game here, but at the start of summer? No way. He was still pining over Allison and thought he could exist without an alpha. Nothing I could say or do would convince him otherwise. So I decided that if he wanted to be on his own, then I would let him and would go where I was wanted and needed, so I came to you.”

Stiles suddenly looked nervous, glancing everywhere but at Derek. He started to nervously pace in front of him. “Unless I was totally off base with that, in which case, you can just kick me to the curb and I’ll go, but Scott will probably follow and that might screw up that whole trifecta thing Eliot mentioned, but maybe you could substitute Isaac in or something or—”

Derek grinned as he listened to Stiles ramble on, his face flushing the deeper he dug his proverbial hole. He grabbed Stiles’ shirt sleeve and pulled him out of his pacing. Keeping his body clear of Stiles’ flailing arms, Derek put a hand over his mouth before he got worked up again. 

“You weren’t off-base, Stiles.” He flushed a deeper red and tried mumbling behind Derek’s hand, then became annoyed when he couldn’t actually speak. Derek smirked. “I told you that you’re important to the pack… to me. I meant it.”

He felt Stiles grin under his hand and watched his eyes light up. The flush on his cheeks was less embarrassment and more pleasure.

“You just need to be careful. We don’t know what the Alpha Pack has planned and I don’t want you caught in the crossfire.”

Stiles mimed crossing his heart and nearly dislodged Derek’s hand with his full-body gestures. Derek huffed out a laugh and removed his hand, but still had a grip on Stiles’ shirt. “Ditto, you know. On the important thing, the careful thing, and the crossfire thing and all of it really—”

“Do I need to gag you?” Derek asked, raising an eyebrow. “Or do I need to give your mouth something else to do?”

Stiles stopped mid-sentence, opening and closing his mouth without saying anything. Finally, he shook his head rapidly. “I swear to god, you better survive these trials or tests or whatever the Alpha Pack throws at you because according to the internet, ‘we almost died’ sex is fucking awesome and I plan to _thoroughly_ put that to the test.” 

Derek _swore_ he didn’t mean anything he said in a sexual context, but he could easily see how Stiles would take it that way. Instead, he rolled his eyes and let go of his grip on Stiles’ shirt. “Do you believe everything you read on the internet?”

The smirk on Stiles’ face was downright wicked. “There are a few things I’d have to research to check validity. Mind dropping your pants for internet theory number one?”

He blinked in shock, and then glared at Stiles. “Are you the reason Isaac wouldn’t stop asking me if we had knots like actual wolves?”

The teen threw his head back and laughed loudly. Derek took that as a yes. Before he could comment on the differences between werewolves and actual wolves, Stiles leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips.

Derek froze for all of two seconds before gripping Stiles’ shirt again and pulling him closer. Stiles’ mouth opened as he gasped. He half-expected Stiles to pull away after that, but his hands gripped Derek’s arms tightly, tilting his head for a better angle.

Derek hadn’t made any outright advances on Stiles—he was still sixteen, or rather, _seventeen_ —but he didn’t know that Stiles had picked up on his admittedly deeply-hidden affection. 

Stiles pulled back, blush staining his cheeks, but he was still grinning at Derek. “Picked up on my subtle hints, did you?”

Derek thought back to almost every major interaction he shared with Stiles since the Alpha Pack arrived. The casual brushes against each other, standing closer than normal, finding excuses to swing by the house or the depot under the guise of research, constantly mentioning his _old_ crush on Lydia… The list went on and on. He leaned his forehead against Stiles’. 

“Not that subtle,” he insisted, despite not picking up on them at the time. They could have easily been explained away as Stiles’ helpful nature, but now he saw all the actions in a different light.

“Please,” he scoffed. “You wouldn’t know outright flirting if it bit you on the tail.”

Stiles snickered when Derek glared at him. He slowly stepped out of Derek’s arms and turned around to walk back into the house, brushing a hand over his Jeep as he went. “You didn’t actually say no to my internet theory!” he shouted over his shoulder as he opened the door. 

Derek sighed loudly. “I don’t have a knot on my dick, Stiles!”

Shouts of horror drifted through the open doorway as his voice carried into the house. Stiles collapsed in laughter all over again, sliding down the doorjamb until he was seated on the floor. Derek just stepped over him as he walked into the house.

[ ](http://s644.photobucket.com/user/dream_mancer/media/Fic%20art/GOA/FINAL-Divider-a1pngoriginal.png.html)

Three weeks passed since Erica and Boyd’s return. Derek watched Isaac and Jackson go over sparring holds, trying to get purchase on skin as if they were fighting with claws. Since they were fighting alphas, any wounds would take longer to heal, so avoiding major injuries was key to surviving longer.

Derek still didn’t know what the Alpha Pack had in store for their tests, but he was working with Eliot as much as he could and also working with his own pack. Taking Eliot’s suggestions to heart, Derek started to look at each individual’s strength, instead of their collective failings as a group. 

It wasn’t easy, and there were still screaming matches multiple times a day. They were all lucky if blood wasn’t drawn within a twelve hour period. Stiles and Jackson would never get along, and Scott and Jackson still had issues taking orders of any kind, even if they were good suggestions. Erica was learning to use her words more than her claws, because as it turned out, she was just as bad as Derek in that department. He might have tossed her into a tree when he heard that she knocked Stiles out with his own car part and then tossed him into a dumpster. 

Eliot walked up next to him and sat down, drawing Derek out of his thoughts. “They’re doing well.”

“Thanks to you.”

“Hey, man, I can give you advice but it’s up to you to actually take it and use it. This is all you,” he replied lightly. 

Derek scoffed, but didn’t remark more on the subject, not needing Eliot to glare at him when he downplayed his own significance. 

“Hardison’s getting set up at the new house. Parker’s pissed because the ducts aren’t big enough for her head, let alone her body.”

Derek smirked before frowning and looking over at Eliot in surprise. “House? What are you talking about?”

Eliot kept his gaze on the betas in the clearing. “We’re going to stick around until after the trials.”

Derek shook his head. “Eliot, you’ve been here for two months already. I can’t ask you to stay.”

True to form, the other alpha glared at him. “You’re not asking; I’m saying that we’re staying. Hardison’s working on a new encryption that we’ll need for a future job, anyway.”

Derek listened in on Eliot’s heartbeat, but if anyone could manipulate their own body into remaining calm, it was Eliot. He was better at twisting the truth than Stiles. “That’s not all.”

“That’s not all,” Eliot agreed. “But that’s all you’re getting.” He clapped Derek on the shoulder before standing and walking out to the clearing. Derek just stared after him in surprise. He was extremely grateful and felt relief that even though Eliot couldn’t interfere during the trials, he could still watch out for the pack. Before he could yell out his thanks, Eliot sent him a smirk over his shoulder. 

“What do you say we show these pups how real wolves fight?”

Derek stood with a grin.

[ ](http://s644.photobucket.com/user/dream_mancer/media/Fic%20art/GOA/FINAL-divider-e1pngoriginal.png.html)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those of you who made it to the end with me, I hope you enjoyed it. Never fear, this is not the end of the arc. There's a prequel, which follows Derek and Laura as they travel to Boston and meet the Leverage crew, and a sequel, where the Alpha Packs throws the pack into chaos. It'll be fun. :D
> 
> My artist, [keyweegirlie](http://archiveofourown.org/users/keyweegirlie/pseuds/keyweegirlie), is spectacular. Click [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/787067) to go to the A03 page with the poster and [here](http://keywee-icons.livejournal.com/31050.html) to see all the extra goodies she made me, including the dividers I used in the fic. You were amazing to work with, and I only hope the story does the art justice. 
> 
> To Jo, thank you for being here every single step of the way, letting me leave messages and capslocked texts as I flailed over the story, and staying up and reading over every last minute change... and for not laughing too much when I despaired at the high word count. ( _It was supposed to be **short**_ ).
> 
> To Jacy, thank you for swooping in at the eleventh hour and looking this over for me, even though you had no idea what was going on. Yes, yes, I know. You'll beat the passive voice out of me someday. 
> 
> Comments are welcome. If you see something amiss, please let me know so I can fix it! 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
>  **eta** : Holy crap, guys, seriously. Your comments and kudos make my day. So glad so many people like this.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Get Out Alive - artwork](https://archiveofourown.org/works/787067) by [keyweegirlie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keyweegirlie/pseuds/keyweegirlie)




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